Local Governments across the Rural–Urban Continuum: Findings from a Recent National County Government Study
In recent decades, local governments have faced profound changes in their economic, social, and political environment. Long-term economic restructuring, the fallout from the Great Recession, and political changes such as ongoing devolution and pressure from state governments have affected the performance of local governments (Dadayan and Boyd 2013; Katz and Bradley 2013; Kim and Warner 2018). Residential mobility continues to decline, leaving Americans increasingly stuck in place and in need of community support (Graham and Pinto 2019). Geographic variations in vulnerability to change have become more evident, expressed in recent social distress such as the rural opioid crisis and in political polarization. These events call for creative responses from local governments and place-based policies that are tailored to specific local conditions and population needs.