Local Resources, Local Needs, and Questions of Scale: Linkages Between
Housing, Forestry, and Community Development in
Conner Bailey, Rural
Sociology
Mark R. Dubois, School of
Forestry & Wildlife Sciences
Introduction
The broad research question we
propose to examine is how might it be possible to promote a linkage between
local natural resources and local needs for improved housing and economic
opportunities in a set of timber resource dependent, non-metropolitan
counties (Hale, Greene, Sumter, and Marengo) located in West Alabama. Like many other counties of the South’s
demographically-defined Black Belt (Appendix 1), these counties suffer from a
complex of problems associated with persistent poverty and high rates of
unemployment (Appendix 2).
The irony – and the potential - of
abundant timber resources associated with persistent poverty draws us to this
region. Our proposed efforts build on
lengthy involvement in the study area, are multi-disciplinary in nature, and
involve partnerships with the USDA Forest Service, the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, Auburn University’s Rural
Studio in the School of Architecture, and an active citizens’ organization in
that area (Hale Empowerment and Revitalization Organization, or HERO). These partnerships will be significant as we
use Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station funding as leverage to obtain
significant funding for future projects that involve research, extension, and
university outreach. The co-Principal
Investigators have a solid track record of attracting extramural funding for
research related to forestry and rural development in
Our proposed project has three
objectives:
1. Conduct a historical accounting of the effects of labor-capital
substitution on forest management
and the evolution of timber harvesting;
2. Assess housing needs and conditions in the study area;
3. Identify opportunities for small-scale forest management,
harvesting, and production techniques,
and their potential to serve local needs for employment, building materials, and the development of
micro-enterprises.
The three objectives of the proposed
project meet Research Priority 5 in addressing “ways to ensure the
socioeconomic and self-empowerment of families and communities in
Academics like to review literature. There is little new under the sun, and while each situation has unique characteristics, there is usually something we can learn from experience elsewhere. With regard to West Alabama, there has been a long series of scholars who have worked in the region, and the process of reviewing the literature can help guide current research (or at least keep us from reinventing the wheel. We present here a brief literature review designed to shed light on our current project.
MISCELLANEOUS STUFF
Story from Bend, Oregon about horse-logging, described as an approach that has low impact on the land, that is supportive of the local economy, and that is particularly well-suited for thining.
PROJECT DOCUMENTS
New project funded by USDA National Research Inititative Competitive Grants Program will extend our current effort in West Alabama and beyond. The text of the proposal is here . An interdisciplinary team of faculty at Auburn University has been awarded $460,000 with a national ly-competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that integrates research, extension and instructional activities. According to Conner Bailey, Professor of Rural Sociology and Principle Investigator on this project, the project was inspired by Mark Dubois, Associate Professor of Forestry and co-Principal Investigator. Dr. Dubois observed that contemporary logging operations no longer serve the needs of forestland owners with tracts of less than 50 acres, who as a consequence have no market for their timber. Based on their work in West Alabama, Bailey and Dubois knew that poverty and substandard rural housing were widespread in that region. They reasoned that some of those living in substandard housing may own land with standing timber which could be transformed into valuable building materials. Bailey and Dubois approached Dr. Bruce Lindsey of the School of Architecture and co-Director of the Rural Studio with the idea of promoting scale-appropriate harvesting and wood processing technologies that would produce valuable construction materials for projects of the Rural Studio from local forestland owners. Dr. Lindsey agreed to sign on as co-Principal Investigator on this project). A critically important fourth team member was recruited, Dr. Valentina Hartarska, an economist in the Department of Agricultural Economics who specializes in microfinance and microenterprise development. Harvesting and processing activities need to be economically self-sustaining, and Dr. Hartarska’s expertise will help us identify the types of enterprises which will generate income and employment as well as make it possible to utilize locally-available materials to meet local needs. This new project is a direct outgrowth of a pilot project funded by the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and focused on West Alabama. The USDA-funded project will extend the geographic focus to include other regions in Alabama and the South where forestland is divided into large numbers of small tracts. A key component in expansion beyond Alabama will be an effort to promote Rural Studio-like programs at other universities with schools of architecture and forestry. The long-term goal is to connect the design talents of architecture a nearly ubiquitous natural resource that can be used directly to improve housing conditions and the quality of life in rural communities across the region.
Overview of federal, state, and local housing programs in Hale County.
Status report as of March 2004.
Notes of meetings held March 31, 2004.
RESEARCH OUTPUT
Pat Kennealy is a graduate student in rural sociology working on this project. He has written a paper on Rural Housing in America. This paper is also available in the form of bullets used for a presentation.
Beau Brodbeck is a graduate student in forestry who previously was employed as a consulting forester. He has written a paper on closure of many small sawmills in Alabama and the impact of mill consolidation on employment. There are three graphs that go with this paper (.pdf format).
Two research papers are in preparation for the annual meetings of the Rural Sociological Society in August, 2004.
Conner Bailey, Mark Dubois, and Arnold Brodbeck, "Matching Local Resources to Local Needs: Forestry and Community Development in Alabama’s Black Belt." Abstract. Full paper in .pdf format .
Pat Kennealy, "A Social History of Rural Low-Income Housing Assistance Programs in the “Black Belt” Region of West Alabama." Abstract. Full paper in .pdf format.