Rural Reconciliation Project

A new generation of alien land laws restricts property ownership by certain noncitizens and foreign entities. A recent digest shares work by Fatma E. Marouf and Vanessa Casado Pérez on the history and modern resurgence of these laws.

How does redistricting affect rural representation? Our latest digest explores Lisa R. Pruitt’s ruralist critique of California’s Proposition 50 and the case for protecting rural communities of interest.

How does climate change intersect with land dispossession and inequality in rural and Indigenous communities? Consider one perspective in our digest on Kelly Dorkenoo and Phasy Res' research from northeastern Cambodia.

Read about Kathryn Totty's work on legal deserts, rural attorney recruitment, and access to justice in Arkansas in a recent digest on the Review

New digest on Gregory M. Fulkerson & Alex R. Thomas's exploration of housing vacancy in rural America, distinguishing between seasonal vacancies tied to amenity-driven dynamics and structural vacancies associated with economic disadvantage and rural remoteness.

📢 Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern reviews Farmers and Climate Change: Agricultural Adaptation in an Age of Rural Polarization by Margiana Petersen-Rockney for the latest in our book review series. Read more about this thoughtful look into how farmers experience, understand, and respond to climate change:

Our latest digest explores research by Kirk J. Stark on how population density and electoral systems influence redistributive taxation at the state and national levels.

This week's digest shares Gregory Robertson's look at the history and practice of community lawyering in Appalachia through the profiles of 4 attorneys who have represented coal miners in Black Lung benefits claims.

August's Roundup features new research on the meaning of home in rural places, news covering the consequences of pharmacy closures in rural vs. urban communities, and a webinar series addressing the challenges of reporting on rural health topics.

This week's digest explores research on how voucher and charter school programs can affect rural school districts and proposes the creation of "education preserves" to help sustain public education.

Our latest digest shares work from Katrina Smith on rural electric cooperatives, how they've changed over time, and reforms that could strengthen local governance, rural autonomy, and the energy transition.

This week's digest shares work from Elizabeth Chambliss uncovering what rural legal practice looks like in South Carolina given the realities of rural legal markets and the need for sustainable practice.

Our latest digest examines CJ Ryan's findings based on more than 200,000 Kentucky eviction cases. His work considers how costs shape the use of formal eviction and reveals differences between small and large landlords, and rural and urban ones.

📢 We're excited to share a book review by former Project RA Grace Tracey! Drawing on her childhood in rural Iowa, Grace explores how Elizabeth Currid-Halkett's The Overlooked Americans challenges one-size-fits-all narratives about rural communities.

This month's Roundup shares research, news, and events covering topics from the role of place branding in rural development to reporting on healthcare access, and an upcoming discussion on protecting agricultural workers from heat-related illness.

This spring, the Rural Reconciliation Project brought together scholars from across disciplines to discuss a big question: How does concentrated economic power shape rural democracy? Read our workshop reflection and learn more about the conversations it inspired:

How do tourism-focused main streets shape perceptions of rural communities? Our latest digest explores research by Matthew M. Mars on the disconnect between curated tourist imagery and everyday rural life in rural Arizona towns.

📢 We're back from our summer publishing break and excited to feature a new commentary from former Project research assistant Katelyn Rich! Her piece explores how public interest tests can shape rural responses to energy development and other land-use conflicts:

Before we take a short summer break, here's a Roundup sharing research on how public transit can improve food access, the push to bring faster delivery to rural areas, and an upcoming virtual gathering for rural leaders nationwide. See you in a few weeks!

This week's digest explores Natalie Temple's look into the difficult choices “land rich, cash poor” farmers face when seeking long-term care.

Recent digest shares B. Kal Munis and @zoenemerever.bsky.social 's analysis of attitudes toward federal public lands. Broad support exists across rural and non-rural populations, but a subset of “resentful ruralities” shape opposition to federal land management policies.

📢 We’re excited to share a new commentary by Erika Allen Wolters & Kevin Pirch on public land access in the American West, examining the challenges of checkerboard land ownership and legal conflicts over “corner crossing”:

Our latest digest shares insights from Hon. Zachary R. Walden & Alexandra Rogers on Tennessee’s Rural Judicial Fellowship and how immersive clerkships can help build a stronger pipeline of lawyers committed to rural practice.

This week's digest shares @fhisey.bsky.social & Jonah Olsen's investigation of the role of conservation easements in protecting endangered grasslands while navigating landowner concerns about control and stewardship.

Where are lawyers missing from rural America—and how should we measure gaps? Our newest digest shares work by David J. Peters, Emma Bartling, and Emily Meyer on rethinking “legal deserts.”

New commentary on the Review: an important examination by @cassieforky.bsky.social of how place shapes access to domestic violence protective orders. Two studies highlight overlooked barriers for rural residents and calls for greater attention to underserved communities. Read more:

In a recent digest, we shared Eduardo Villavicencio-Pinto's analysis of how land concentration and water access shape rural poverty in Chile, particularly under the pressures of climate change.

This month's roundup shares an article about storytelling & land-use conflict in Bears Ears, news coverage of Indigenous organizing against data center development, a free webinar on rural disaster recovery and more.

This week's digest shares Theodosia Stavroulaki's work on the “healing power of antitrust” in rural healthcare, highlighting how hospital mergers and noncompete agreements contribute to care shortages and inequality.

What does it take to relocate an entire community? A recent digest shares Sophia Tidler’s analysis of climate adaptation in rural Alaska and how gaps in federal decommissioning policy and limited consultation impact Native communities.

New digest featuring Jonathan Rosenbloom’s work on the Mississippi River watershed, nutrient pollution, and how local governments can improve water quality in despite federal and state level constraints:

Our latest digest highlights research by Adam Aberra and Matthieu Chemin, showing how simple legal trainings on succession and buying and selling land affects investment and stability in rural Kenya.

This month’s Roundup includes: new research on Alaska Native rural–urban migration, the “new normal” of high beef prices amid shrinking cattle herds, and an upcoming webinar on rural overdose prevention policy efforts, and more.

This week’s digest explores a study by Lisa R. Pruitt, Jennifer Sherman, & Jennifer Schwartz on rural Washington’s criminal legal systems and the serious gaps in representation for indigent defendants.

📢 New in our guest book review series! Sarah Vogel on The Rural Lawyer: How To Incentivize Rural Law Practice and Help Small Communities Thrive by @haksgaard.bsky.social, a compelling look at SD's efforts to expand legal access in rural communities. Read the latest in our review exchange:

This week's digest explores Michele Statz’s research on technology, the loss of connection in rural courts, and the resulting collective grief experienced by rural practitioners.

Our latest digest explores Susanne Stenbacka’s argument for why rural geographers should "care" and considers how care theory can serve as a lens for understanding rural infrastructure, public policy, and the common good.

This month’s Roundup highlights new research on rural–urban divides in punitive attitudes in Australia, insights on teacher recruitment and retention in the Midwest, and registration info for the Center for Great Plains Studies’ 50th anniversary conference, “Great Plains Futures.” Read more:

Can collaboration solve “wicked problems” in natural resource policy? Our new digest shares Crystal M. Callahan & Katherine M. Himes’s case for collaborative governance, featuring Idaho case studies on consensus-driven solutions.

📢 New in our guest book review series: @haksgaard.bsky.social sky.social on The Farmer's Lawyer: The North Dakota Nine and the Fight to Save the Family Farm by Sarah Vogel — a compelling blend of memoir and legal history from the 1980s farm crisis and Colman v. Block.

Our latest digest explores Sarah Everhart’s argument that rather than focus on restricting foreign ownership, legislators should help US farmers access affordable farmland.

This week's digest shares @smettler.bsky.social and Trevor E. Brown's examination of rural politics in the US and their call for comparative, macro-level approaches to studying how place influences political identity and public opinion.

Our newest digest explores research on women smallholder farmers in Nigeria and the case for agroecological policies that support equity, community wellbeing, and food security. Read about the potential of agroecology to transform conventional agricultural paradigms:

Our latest Roundup shares new research on rural-urban differences in pain-free life expectancy, reporting on rural pharmacy closures as a loss of "critical healthcare hubs," and a call for abstracts on "Rural Justice" for the 2026 RSS meeting.

We’re back from our winter publishing break with our first digest of 2026. This week, we highlight @fhisey.bsky.social ’s analysis of conservation easement policy diffusion in Canada and the evolution of provincial legislation.

Our Reading List series returns with a new installment on how rural identities are co-opted into narratives of national character and authenticity. Featuring great reads by Elizabeth O’Connor, Karen Russell, and Danielle Evans. Happy reading! We'll be back in 2026!

Can an influx of newcomers help revitalize rural communities? Our latest digest shares a recent study of “neo-rurals” and tourism in southern Spain, exploring the importance of integration in fueling positive change for rural communities

Our December Roundup highlights new research on how farmers’ social ties influence conservation practices, expanded eligibility for North Dakota’s rural attorney recruitment program, a podcast unpacking rural Minnesota’s labor trends, and more:

Our latest digest summarizes @cassieforky.bsky.social & C.J. Ryan’s findings that legal representation and longer proceedings reduce eviction risks, but rural tenants face steep barriers to both.

How do rural communities navigate consumerism and conservation? Our latest digest highlights Lisa R. Pruitt’s history of Newton County, Arkansas, and the need to include legacy families in future investment efforts.