The Right to Be Rural

Book excerpt: In this collection, researchers analyze rural societies, economies, and governance in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia through the lens of rights and citizenship, across such varied domains as education, employment, and health. The provocative concept of a “right to be rural” illuminates not only the challenges faced by rural communities worldwide, but also underappreciated facets of community resilience in the face of these challenges. The book’s central question—“is there a right to be rural?”—offers insights into how these communities are created, maintained, and challenged. The authors illustrate that citizenship rights have a spatial character, and that this observation is critical to studying and understanding rural life in the twenty-first century. Scholars and policymakers concerned with the health and well-being of rural communities will be interested in this book. Contributors: Ray Bollman, Clement Chipenda, Innocent Chirisa, Logan Cochrane, Pallavi Das, Laura Domingo-Peñafiel, Laura Farré-Riera, Jens Kaae Fisker, Karen R. Foster, Lesley Frank, Greg Hadley, Stacey Haugen, Jennifer Jarman, Kathleen Kevany, Eshetayehu Kinfu, Al Lauzon, Katie MacLeod, Jeofrey Matai, Ilona Matysiak, Kayla McCarney, Rachel McLay, Egon Noe, Howard Ramos, Katja Rinne-Koski, Sulevi Riukulehto, Sarah Rudrum, Ario Seto, Nuria Simo-Gil, Peggy Smith, Sara Teitelbaum, Annette Aagaard Thuesen, Tom Tom, Ashleigh Weeden, Satenia Zimmermann