Rethinking Rural: Global Community and Economic Development in the Small Town West

The vastness and isoiation of the American West forged a dependence on scarce natural resources-especially water, forests, fish, and minerals. The small towns clustered near these assets were often self-sufficient and culturally distinct. By 1941, mass media, as well as improved transportation and infrastructure, propelled these sequestered settlements into the mass society era. Today, the internet is shaping another revolution, and it promises both obstacles and opportunity. Some formerly ...