Issue 7

A Tale of Two Towns: Rural Communities Divided Over Growth

A good deal of research has examined the ecological impacts of sprawl; other work has looked at the social inequities created when middle-income residents abandon central cities, leaving lower income residents to deal with problems that typically accompany urban life, such as decaying infrastructure, problem schools, and high crime rates. Far less scholarship compares acceptance of urban expansion in communities that are socioeconomically and racially separated.

In 2002, I worked with Myron Floyd from North Carolina State University on a study of two towns in rural upper Charleston County, SC, where perceptions about future development are in conflict. The contestation involves different visions of growth for the rural area. Exploratory research suggests these differences are highly correlated with socioeconomic status, which, in turn, is closely aligned with race.

Over the past half century, the pace of development on the Sea Islands off the South Carolina coast has intensified. From the end of the Civil War until the 1950s, descendants of African slaves (the Gullah or Geechee people) were the primary inhabitants on South Carolina’s barrier islands. Now, these places have been developed into popular resorts with recreational amenities geared toward the affluent resident and vacationer and the historical Gullah population has been largely displaced by highincome property owners. (...continued...)