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Partnerships in Communities: Reweaving the Fabric of Rural America, by Jean Richardson.Small Town and Rural Economic Development: A Case Studies Approach, edited by Peter V. Schaeffer and Scott Loveridge.

Development approaches have traditionally emphasized material resources, ignoring the less tangible forms of capital. But sustainable development, especially in relation to land use and production systems, calls for an integration of environmental, economic, human, and social capital. Emphasis on only one type of capital can in fact undermine sustainability. By examining the interaction of different kinds of capital in four buffer zone communities, the study identifies features of economic, social, and political organization that are positively related with the potential for building environmental capital.

Abstract This paper develops a framework for examining the questions: Does social capital make a difference for well being in communities of place? How might rural sociologists utilize social capital to further well being in communities? The author reviews social capital literature, contrasting rational choice and embeddedness perspectives. Opting for a marriage between embeddedness and conflict theory, he introduces entrepreneurial social infrastructure (ESI) as an alternative to social capital. ESI adds to social capital the notions of equality, inclusion, and agency. Research results are presented which support the embeddedness approach: community‐level action (the community field) is not simply an aggregation of individual or organizational actions within the community; social capital and ESI contribute jointly and independently to community action. Examining economic development as a form of collective action, the author concludes�the following: a) ESI contributes to economic development, and b) inclusiveness (internal solidarity) is more closely related to community self‐development while industrial recruitment is better predicted by strong external ties.

Abstract. Per pupil educational costs for Kansas counties are analyzed according to degree to which the county is rural. The loss or gain due to migration of educated young people is then added into the costs. Those costs are then compared to ability to pay according to a number of indicators in each category of the county. The impact of various forms of taxation to support schools is analyzed. Rural counties spend more per pupil and pay higher per capita property taxes. The differences in cost between rural and urban areas is even greater when the effects of migration are included. Household incomes tend to be lower in more rural counties. The effects of a court‐ordered change in school finance will increase the inequalities between rural and urban areas. It is contended that reliance on the property tax contributes highly to this inequality.

Communities in rural America are a complex mixture of peoples and cultures struggling to survive by implementing innovative approaches to their problems. These people range from miners who have been laid off in West Virginia, to Laotian immigrants relocating in Kansas to work at a beef processing plant, to entrepreneurs drawing up plans for a world-class ski resort in California's Sierra Nevada. This thoroughly revised edition of Rural Communities focuses on various capitals in rural areas—natural, cultural, human, social, political, financial, and built. This integrative approach provides students with a framework for understanding rural society based on the concepts and explanations of social science. Issues covered include racial and cultural diversity; globalization and rural communities; the central role of communities in organizing a sustainable future; and building community in the context of ubiquitous change. Updates to the third edition include a new chapter on governance, as well as new material on increasing tensions over international immigration, the differential impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on rural communities, and the rural impacts of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the south. The authors also examine the international trade regime, economic restructuring, and the choices for communities and regions in the face of these changes.

Local communities are faced with increasing responsibilities to provide for their own well-being and development. With fewer resources, communities need more successful ways of uniting people and resources. Entrepreneurial social infrastructure (ESI) is a necessary ingredient for successfully linking physical resources and leadership for community development. ESI includes three elements: symbolic diversity, resource mobilization, and quality of networks. Instead of fostering perverse conflict or superficial harmony, symbolic diversity inspires communities to engage in constructive controversy to arrive at workable community decisions by focusing on community processes, depersonalization of politics, and broadening of community boundaries. Resource mobilization involves generating some surplus within the community beyond basic subsistence with relative equity in resource and risk distribution, investment by residents of their own private capital locally, and collective investment in the community (willingness of residents to tax themselves). Quality networks include establishing linkages with others in similar circumstances and developing vertical networks to provide diverse sources—both within and outside the community—of experience and knowledge.

With local communities increasingly responsible for their own well-being & development, entrepreneurial social infrastructure (ESI) is a necessary ingredient for successfully linking physical resources & leadership. ESI includes three elements: symbolic diversity, resource mobilization, & quality of networks. Symbolic diversity encourages communities to engage in constructive controversy to arrive at workable community decisions by focusing on community processes, depersonalization of politics, & broadening of community boundaries. Resource mobilization involves generating some surplus within the community beyond basic subsistence with relative equity in resource & risk distribution, investment by residents of their own money, & collective investment in the community. Quality networks include establishing linkages with others in similar circumstances & developing vertical networks to provide diverse sources of experience & knowledge. Adapted from the source document.