Think small for big change
There’s a common sentiment that the middle class and middle America have been hollowed by globalization. That may be true. If so, it’s great news for younger Americans — because thanks to those same forces of globalization, the hollowed-out communities in the middle of the country are now attractive places to build a life.
This story about Water Valley, Miss., is an example. Water Valley’s population peaked in 1920, so its development was shaped before the postwar era gov- erned by sprawl and the automobile. Its historic Main Street was dilapidated but still existed.
Importantly, land was cheap. While annual office rents in high-flying metro areas like the San Francisco Bay Area can go for over $100 a square foot, on Water Valley’s Main Street, buildings could be bought for as low as $8 per square foot. It took only around 20 of Water Valley’s residents to have a big impact on turning around the community’s historic district by renovating around 30 of its 100 his-
toric commercial buildings.
While small towns may have lost their well-paying factory jobs to automation and outsourcing, they now exist as potential cheap platforms for globalization. What sustained these communities used to be high wages. Today, the opportunity is ultra-cheap consumption and production.
Someone can open a coffee shop importing the best coffee beans from around the country or the world. Craft breweries have always preferred to set up shop where the land is cheap rather than in sparkling expensive urban downtowns. Entrepreneurs in agrarian communities can coordinate with local farmers to create local food markets and restaurants. Residents can elect competent, forward-thinking leaders; it’s amazing what a good mayor and a handful of city council members or county commissioners can do.
Too often in America we look for grand-scale catalysts to fix big problems. Maybe the way to bring back smaller communities isn’t waiting for a hero, but making countless small improvements and building on the assets already in place.