000			01816nam a22001457a 4500
999			_c514403 _d514403
008			201031b ||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
100			_aSkobba, Kim. Osinubi , Adenola. and Tinsley, Karen L. _920559
245			_a What about rural blight? Housing and neighborhood conditions in southeastern small towns
260			_aRural Sociology
300			_a85(1), Mar, 2020: p.85-110
520			_aThough the concept of blight clarifies housing and neighborhood changes in rural and small towns experiencing disinvestment and decline, the term is rarely examined outside of urban discourse. This study explores the extent of rural blight and its relationship to community characteristics using survey results from elected officials and staff members of small towns in one southeastern state. We examine the historical background of blight, including its connections to urban renewal, racial bias and stereotyping, and the broken windows theory. Among the small towns in the study, economic blight, particularly dilapidated housing, was prevalent. Social blight, which includes behaviors that are thought to be threatening or criminal in nature, was less common but correlated moderately with economic forms of blight. While social disorganization and collective efficacy theories link a range of demographic characteristics to physical and social disorder, our findings pointed only to a significant relationship between communities with a higher portion of the population who are black and multiple forms of extensive blight. More research is needed to understand the relationship, both observed and perceived, between economic and social blight in rural small towns and how these issues may be remediated through local collective action.- Reproduced
773			_aRural Sociology
906			_aHOUSING
942			_cAR