The Social Basis of Agro‐Environmental Concern: Physical versus Social Proximity

Abstract In this study, we explore the social basis of environmental concern, specifically focusing on attitudes about the agricultural environment in relation to an individual's geographic and social distance from agriculture. We also consider the significance of rural recreational behaviors in relation to agro‐environmental concern. The analysis, based on data from a statewide survey of Ohioans, reveals a strong relationship between one's geographic location along the rural‐urban continuum and attitudes about agriculture and the environment. This relationship, though, does not exist once the effects of social proximity to agriculture are accounted for, suggesting that the relationship between residential location along the rural‐urban continuum and agro‐environmental attitudes may be spurious. The analysis also reveals a strong relationship between participation in rural recreation and attitudes about agriculture and the environment. We describe several conceptual and practical implications of this research for natural‐resource management.     

Understanding Local Environmental Concern: The Importance of Place

Urban‐rural differences in environmental concern are the primary way that place has been conceptualized within the social bases of environmental concern framework, yet there has been little convergence in empirical findings to support such differences. We assess the influence of place of permanent residence and other sociodemographic measures of the social bases of environmental concern approach alongside two social‐psychological constructs: place attachment and place outlook. Our work focuses on second homeowners in three rural, natural amenity communities of the northeastern United States (n = 405). Second homeowners who permanently reside in rural places exhibited lower levels of local environmental concern about their second home area than suburban and urban residents, when “rural” was defined at the county scale. We did not observe differences in local environmental concern based upon urban‐suburban‐rural permanent residence when place of permanent residence was defined at the tract, block group, or zip code levels. Place attachment and place outlook explain more variance in local environmental concern than all sociodemographic indicators combined. Our findings suggest that second homeowners' local environmental concern is not strongly or consistently shaped by the urbanity or rurality of their permanent residence, but that place‐based, social‐psychological constructs may offer mechanisms through which social‐structural forces shape environmental concern.     

Village Facilities and Social Place Attachment in the Rural Netherlands

Economies of scale and increased mobility have led to the closure of many village facilities. Most residents do not rely on locally available facilities anymore for their primary function. However, facilities are also meeting places. A decline in facilities may therefore negatively influence residents' social place attachment. This article examines which facilities impact residents' social place attachment. It also explores whether different facilities impact the social place attachment of different groups of residents differently. In our analyses, we make a distinction between rural areas near and away from urban areas. Based on structural equation modeling, we conclude that in rural areas, both near and away from cities, cafés and supermarkets may well matter for residents' social attachment. In contrast to common expectations, community centers, primary schools, and sports facilities were not shown to enhance social place attachment. Considering the increasing self‐reliance of local communities, these findings raise doubts about the use of public services to revitalize local communities.     

“Culture Clash' Revisited: Newcomer and Longer‐Term Residents' Attitudes Toward Land Use,Development, and Environmental Issues in Rural Communities in the Rocky Mountain West*

Abstract Many rural communities in the Rocky Mountain West with high amenity values have experienced substantial in‐migration in the 1990s. Popular media accounts and some social science literature suggest that newcomers have very different values than longer‐term residents regarding environment, growth, and development issues, and that these differences are resulting in widespread social conflict. We evaluate these “culture clash” and “gangplank” hypotheses using survey data from three rural communities in the Rocky Mountain West that are experiencing amenity‐related in‐migration. We examine attitudes about environmental concern, population growth, economic development, and tourism development. Results indicate that newcomers differ significantly from longer‐term residents on a number of sociodemographic dimensions, but either there are no significant attitude differences between the two groups, or, where difference exist, longer‐term residents wish more strongly than newcomers to limit population growth and development in their communities. We offer explanations for why the results differ from media accounts and from the earlier research observations and hypotheses.     

Foreclosure,Inequality, and the Difference That Place Makes

While the Great Recession and the associated rise in foreclosures significantly impacted households across the United States, default rates in rural areas and rural‐urban foreclosure differences have failed to attract substantial research attention. To expand the scale and scope of the foreclosure literature, this article examines place‐based differences in estimated foreclosure rates across U.S. counties, which are classified as urban, suburban, micropolitan, or rural. Defaults are considered both overall and for each county classification, and are related to income distribution and inequality, homeownership, adjudication of default, place‐based factors including amenity scores and proximity to urban areas, and geographic region. The article finds a complex relationship among these variables, with inequality itself negatively associated with default rates and lower‐middle?income households positively related to foreclosure. Further, while proximity to urban areas is positively related to foreclosure rates among nonurban counties, natural amenities are related to lower default rates in these areas. The article concludes by considering policy implications, and recommends expanding foreclosure mitigation and prevention strategies to nonurban places.     

Social Capital,Labour Markets,and Job‐Finding in Urban and Rural Regions: comparing paths to employment in prosperous cities and stressed rural communities in Canada1,2

This paper compares paths to employment (job‐finding) in prosperous cities and economically‐stressed rural communities in Canada. Since the pioneering work of Mark Granovetter (1973; 1974 ), sociologists have investigated the role of social capital in job‐finding (specifically, the use of strong and weak social ties to find out about employment opportunities). To date, however, there have been few direct comparisons of job‐finding in urban and rural settings (see Lindsay et al., 2005 ; Wahba and Zenou, 2005 ). Using data from two major surveys and a qualitative interview project, we uncover several important differences in urban and rural paths to employment. First, we find that both strong and weak ties are used more frequently by rural residents to find a job, while city‐dwellers rely more often on formal or impersonal means. Second, we find much stronger evidence of differentiation within rural regions. Long‐time rural residents are much more likely to use strong and weak ties to find employment than are newcomers. However, rural residents who used weak ties as paths to employment have significantly lower incomes. None of these patterns are evident in the cities. Together, these findings lead us to conclude that job‐finding in rural settings is strongly affected by constraints – in the labour market and in social capital resources – that are not present in cities.     

Urban Residents' Views of Rurality and Contacts with Rural Places1

Little is known about how rural people and places are viewed by the urban majority or the extent to which these images are related to first-hand contact with rurality. Data from a recent mail survey of a sample of people living in Pennsylvania cities suggest that urban people view rural places in positive terms and feel that rural areas and rural lifestyles should be preserved. When asked to consider the desirability of various development strategies, most urban residents indicated that priority should be given to promoting traditional extractive economic activities (farming, forestry, mining); there was little support for other types of business or industrial development Urban residents who visited rural locales for recreation and/or environmental contact were most likely to want to preserve those areas; visiting for social reasons was related to support for development activities. Policy implications of these findings are suggested.     

Assessing the Social Bonds of Elderly Neighbors: The Roles of Length of Residence, Crime Victimization, and Perceived Disorder

Starting from the rationale that elderly urban residents tend to be “neighborhood‐bound,” this study examines the relationship between age or aging and local social bonds (friendship, social cohesion and trust, informal social control, and participation in local organizations). Specifically, is the level of local bonding among elderly urban residents (age 65 and over) greater than that of the younger cohorts (17–35, 34–49, and 50–64)? Additionally, two specific hypotheses are constructed to examine the determinants of local social bonds among elderly urban residents: the systemic approach, regarding length of residence; and the social‐disorganization approach, regarding crime victimization and perceived disorder. Using Chicago data collected in 1995, the analysis found a substantial difference between the elderly cohort and each of the younger cohorts in only the friendship category of local social bonds. The other results show that in a sample of elderly urban residents, length of residence is the only significant, positive factor in local friendship, and that the two disorder predictors, physical and social, play a substantial role in weakening two types of local social bonds, social cohesion and trust and informal social control.     

“People Will Bury Their Guns before They Surrender Them”: Implementing Domestic Violence Gun Control in Rural,Appalachian versus Urban Communities

Though gun violence is a global issue, the risk of firearm death is substantially higher in the United States than in other high‐income nations. Guns are deeply rooted within American culture; however, different subcultures exist along the urban‐rural divide. Such differences between urban and rural communities related to gun culture have been dubbed “firearm localism.” We investigated firearm localism in a state that has the highest proportion of firearm‐related domestic violence homicide and a large rural area representing a subgroup of rural culture: Appalachia. Specifically, key professionals reported issues related to domestic violence gun control in their communities. We conducted phone and in‐person surveys with a sample of community professionals (N = 133) working in victim services and the justice system in urban and Appalachian communities. Despite evidence of a strong gun culture in the rural communities, both urban and rural professionals estimated that about two‐thirds of their community would support restricting abusers' firearm access. Additionally, rural professionals were more likely to show concern for abusers' Second Amendment rights when discussing unintended negative consequences of gun confiscation; urban professionals were more likely to point out that gun confiscation can provide a false sense of security for victims. Policy implications are discussed.     

The Social Bases of Rural‐Urban Political Divides: Social Status,Work, and Sociocultural Beliefs

The rural‐urban political divide has sparked media and social science concern. Yet national studies of rural and urban voters have largely failed to draw from the distinct conceptual literatures produced by rural sociologists. We take a new look at individuals’ voting choices, building from two rural sociological literatures, research on spatial inequality and on the rural‐urban continuum, to identify the social bases anteceding Republican voting in presidential elections. We analyze three social bases along which rural‐urban populations vary: social structural statuses, work and employment, and sociocultural values and beliefs. We question the degree to which rural‐urban differences can be accounted for by these factors. Data are from approximately 9,000 respondents to the General Social Surveys for election years 2000–2012. Our findings demonstrate that the literatures produced by rural sociologists provide a strong conceptual foundation for explaining rural‐urban voting differences. Rural and urban residents’ differential social statuses account for the greatest variation in their voting choices. Sociocultural values and beliefs, particularly attitudes toward domestic social issues, are also important. Findings add significant insight into the variety of factors that differentiate rural‐urban individuals’ voting choices as well as illuminate the need for greater emphasis on exurban voters.     

Social Stigma, Social Capital Reconstruction and Rural Migrants in Urban China: A Population Health Perspective

In this study, we examine migrant stigma and its effect on social capital reconstruction among rural migrants who possess legal rural residence but live and work in urban China. After a review of the concepts of stigma and social capital, we report data collected through in-depth interviews with 40 rural migrant workers and 38 urban residents recruited from Beijing, China. Findings from this study indicate that social stigma against rural migrants is common in urban China and is reinforced through media, social institutions and their representatives, and day-to-day interactions. As an important part of discrimination, stigma against migrant workers creates inequality, undermines trust, and reduces opportunities for interpersonal interactions between migrants and urban residents. Through these social processes, social stigma interferes with the reconstruction of social capital (including bonding, bridging and linking social capital) for individual rural migrants as well as for their communities. The interaction between stigma and social capital reconstruction may present as a mechanism by which migration leads to negative health consequences. Results from this study underscore the need for taking measures against migrant stigma and alternatively work toward social capital reconstruction for health promotion and disease prevention among this population.     

Consumer Trust in the U.S. Food System: An Examination of the Recreancy Theorem*

Abstract Because consumer opinions to an increasing extent affect the structure and management of the U.S. food system, it is important for social scientists to accurately model consumer trust in this system so they can better understand and anticipate public responses to existing or proposed food‐related regulatory policies and facilitate effective partnership building between food‐system representatives and the public. The recreancy theorem posits that individuals' trust in and support for societal institutions reflects their perceptions of the competence and fiduciary responsibility of institutional actors. This theorem might prove effective at identifying the key determinants of consumers' trust in and support for institutional actors within the U.S. food system, whether these actors be representatives of large‐scale, internationally operated firms or small‐scale, locally operated businesses. We used data from two nationwide samples of adults to test the recreancy theorem for seven to nine pertinent institutional actors each within five areas of the U.S. food system: food safety, nutrition, treatment of workers, environmental protection, and treatment of livestock. The resulting 55 tests of the theorem entailed the estimation of 55 structural equation models to evaluate model fit and the efficacy of perceived competence and fiduciary responsibility in explaining trust and support. The results of analyzing the structural equation models separately and overall indicate support for the recreancy theorem. Based upon our results, we offer suggestions for enhancing public‐private partnership formation within the U.S. food system.     

Rural‐Urban Differences in Environmental Concern in Canada

Abstract Distinctions between rural and urban populations are well documented in environmental sociology literature. Rural and urban places may exert different influences on participation in environmentally supportive behavior (ESB) as well as on other forms of environmental concern (EC). The influence of these distinct geographies may be due to present circumstances or because of childhood socialization in these places. Using data from a national survey in Canada (n=51 664), we use cognitive (basic values, environmental worldview, and environmental attitude) and behavioral indicators (public and private sphere) of EC to explore differences among rural and urban populations and we include analyses accounting for place of socialization. We extend the conventional private sphere category of ESB by including stewardship behaviors. Results showed few differences between rural and urban residents on indicators of EC. Rural residents, however, scored higher on altruistic values, placed a higher priority on the environment, and reported higher participation in recycling and stewardship behaviors. Analysis that included place of socialization showed differences on environmental worldview, basic values, and some ESB. In terms of ESB, we conclude that residence and place of socialization may be less of a factor than opportunity and highlight the importance of providing services and facilities. We recommend future research on residence and ESB include a variety of behaviors that reflect opportunities for both rural and urban residents.     

Rural Environmental Concern: Effects of Position,Partisanship, and Place

The social bases of environmental concern in rural America resemble those for the nation as a whole, but also reflect the influence of place. Some general place characteristics, such as rates of population growth or resource‐industry employment, predict responses across a number of environmental issues. Other unique or distinctive aspects of local society and environment matter as well. We extend earlier work on both kinds of place effects, first by analyzing survey data from northeast Oregon. Results emphasize that “environmental concern” has several dimensions. Second, we contextualize the Oregon results using surveys from other regions. Analysis of an integrated dataset (up to 12,000 interviews in 38 U.S. counties) shows effects from respondent characteristics and political views, and from county rates of population growth and resource‐based employment. There also are significant place‐to‐place variations that are not explained by variables in the models. To understand some of these we return to the local scale. In northeast Oregon, residents describe how perceptions of fire danger from unmanaged forest lands shape their response to the word conservation. Their local interpretation contrasts with more general and urban connotations of this term, underlining the importance of place for understanding rural environmental concern.     

Post‐Socialist Restructuring and Population Redistribution in Hungary*

Abstract This research focuses on pathways by which national level macro‐social transformations are transmitted to local communities. Our case is Hungary where we examine the relationship between post‐socialist economic restructuring, widespread industrial dislocations, and urban‐rural migration. Using secondary data from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) and survey data from a study of 49 villages in 4 distinct rural regions, we demonstrate that post‐socialist population deconcentration involved both suburbanization and net movement to villages, especially villages that are located relatively close to cities. Contrary to our expectations, movement to villages was from nearby settlements, not from large industrial centers. Moreover, migrants to villages were substantially better off than longer term village residents in terms of their human capital and attachment to the labor force. Consequently, post‐socialist population deconcentration is not contributing to rural poverty as feared by some scholars.     

Wildfire Perception and Community Change

Given increasing political and financial commitments to wildfire preparedness, risk policy demands that risk identification, assessment, and mitigation activities are balanced among diverse resident groups. Essential for this is the understanding of residents' perceptions of wildfire risks. This study compares wildfire‐risk perceptions of Pennsylvania residents with those of Minnesotans living in natural‐amenity‐rich communities. Natural‐amenity‐driven migration shifts land‐use patterns and social conditions, making it important to understand if and how such changes affect residents' perceptions of wildfire. Key informant interviews suggest land use and contrasting values associated with sociodemographic shifts were intertwined with wildfire‐risk awareness, concern, and mitigation. In both study areas, local social interactions were impaired by geospatial and sociocultural barriers related to land use and population change. Barriers included perceived threats to quality of life, conflicting needs for economic development, and homes built in isolated locations. As a result, residents did not agree on community‐wide notions of wildfire risk and response. Further, residents' ideas about the potential for a wildfire disaster did not correspond to those of risk managers. Although some places were attempting to overcome these challenges, many informants said their communities were overwhelmed with the effects of change. Finding common notions of wildfire risk is critical precisely because resident participation is crucial to hazard management. In these localities, rural community development can facilitate capacities to address wildfire risk in the context of landscape and social change.     

Heifer‐in‐trust,Social Protection and Graduation: Conceptual Issues and Empirical Questions

This article examines the ‘heifer‐in‐trust’ or ‘livestock‐in‐kind credit’ model through a social‐protection lens. Specifically it seeks to engage with debates about the use of asset‐based strategies to support graduation from social protection. Drawing on project experience with dairy goats in Ethiopia and dairy cattle in Tanzania, the article concludes that while the asset‐ness of livestock may in principle allow them to make a unique contribution to livelihood transformation and thus graduation, the most obvious target group is least likely to be able to handle the demands and risks associated with livestock assets.     

Social capital and economic integration of migrants in urban China

Based on data from a 2005 survey conducted in Shanghai, China, this research examines the role of social capital in income inequality between rural migrants and urbanites. We find strong income return on social capital, in particular on social capital from strong ties. We also observe a great disparity in social capital possession between rural migrants and urban local residents. Although social capital from strong ties seems to be more important for rural migrants than for urbanites, local ties and high-status ties do not seem to benefit rural migrants. Hence, migrants not only suffer severe social capital deficits but also capital return deficits. Given the strong income returns on social capital and the substantial differences in access to and return on social capital between migrants and urban residents, social capital is consequently found to explain a large part of the income inequality between the two groups. Overall, our findings reveal macro-structural effects on the role of social capital in labor market stratification. In China, the lack of formal labor market mechanisms continues to create both a strong need for and opportunities for economic actions to be organized around informal channels via social relations. Yet, the long-standing institutional exclusion of migrants caused by the household registration system has resulted in pervasive social exclusion and discrimination which have substantially limited rural migrants’ accumulation and mobilization of social capital. Under these conditions, social capital reinforces the economic inequality between migrants and urban residents in China. Such empirical evidence adds to our understanding of the role of social capital in the economic integration of migrants and in shaping intergroup inequality in general.     

城乡一体化过程中上海农村社会事业发展对策研究

城乡一体化是经济社会发展的一般规律,是传统农业社会向现代工业社会演变的必然过程,也是现代化的组成部分。城乡一体化的核心是城乡居民的地位一体化、机会一体化、保障一体化。必须从制度上建立一套保障城乡一体化的系统,其中,推进农村社会事业发展更是至关重要。农村教育、卫生、文化、体育、社会保障、社会服务等社会事业的发展水平,某种程度上可以用来衡量一个国家或地区经济社会的发展水平。因此,加强上海农村社会事业发展不仅与广大农民群众的切身利益和农村、农业的发展需要密切相关,而且对于破除城乡二元结构、加快城乡一体化进程、建设现代化国际大都市,实现＂四个率先＂,以及对于探索转型期农村公共产品供给制度的创新、建立与完善农村公共产品和服务供给模式等,具有重要的战略意义、理论意义和应用价值。     

Place Effects on Environmental Views

How people respond to questions involving the environment depends partly on individual characteristics. Characteristics such as age, gender, education, and ideology constitute the well‐studied “social bases of environmental concern,” which have been explained in terms of cohort effects or of cognitive and cultural factors related to social position. It seems likely that people's environmental views depend not only on personal characteristics but also on their social and physical environments. This hypothesis has been more difficult to test, however. Using data from surveys in 19 rural U.S. counties, we apply mixed‐effects modeling to investigate simple place effects with respect to locally focused environmental views. We find evidence for two kinds of place effects. Net of individual characteristics, specific place characteristics have the expected effect on related environmental views. Local changes are related to attitudes about regulation and growth. For example, respondents more often perceive rapid development as a problem, and favor environmental rules that restrict development, in rural counties with growing populations. Moreover, they favor conserving resources for the future rather than using them now to create jobs in counties that have low unemployment. After we controlled for county growth, unemployment and jobs in resource‐based industries, and individual social‐position and ideological factors, there remains significant place‐to‐place variation in mean levels of environmental concern. Even with both kinds of place effects in the models, the individual‐level predictors of environmental concern follow patterns expected from previous research. Concern increases with education among Democrats, whereas among Republicans, the relationship is attenuated or reversed. The interaction marks reframing of environmental questions as political wedge issues, through nominally scientific counterarguments aimed at educated, ideologically receptive audiences.