Chapter 36 Exercises: The New Appalachia — Immigration, Remote Work, Tourism, and Reinvention

Exercise 1: Primary Source Analysis — Voices of Change

Read the three primary source excerpts in this chapter (the longtime Asheville resident, the remote worker, and the meatpacking plant worker).

a) Each speaker describes a different relationship to economic change in Appalachia. Create a comparison table that identifies for each speaker: their connection to the community, the economic force affecting them, what they value, what they fear, and what they need.

b) The remote worker says, "I'm not here to change anything." Is this claim credible? Can a person with a high salary move to a low-income community without changing it? What are the mechanisms through which individual relocation decisions aggregate into community transformation?

c) The meatpacking worker says, "This is home now." What does it mean for a place to become home? How does the immigrant worker's claim to belonging compare to the claims made by earlier immigrants described in Chapter 19? What barriers does the current immigrant face that earlier immigrants did not?

d) Write a 500-word essay proposing a community policy framework that could address the needs of all three speakers simultaneously. What policies would protect the longtime resident from displacement, welcome the newcomer without pricing out existing residents, and ensure that immigrant workers have the protections and rights they need?

Exercise 2: The Extraction Pattern — Old and New

The chapter includes a "Then and Now" comparison between coal extraction in 1900 and data center development in 2023.

a) Extend this comparison by creating a detailed table with the following columns: Resource Extracted, Who Extracts It, Labor Required, Community Benefits, Community Costs, Who Controls the Process, What Remains When the Extractors Leave. Complete the table for four economic models: coal mining (1900), tourism (2023), data centers (2023), and community-owned solar energy (2023).

b) The chapter argues that the key question is not what is extracted but who controls the extraction. What does "community control" mean in practical terms? Identify at least three specific mechanisms (legal, political, economic) through which a community could exercise control over economic development projects.

c) Research one specific example of community-controlled economic development in Appalachia — a cooperative, a community land trust, a locally owned business, or a community-owned energy project. Describe the project, how it is governed, and what benefits it provides to the community. What challenges has it faced?

d) Write a 400-word reflection on whether the extraction pattern described throughout this textbook is inevitable or preventable. What would need to change — in law, in policy, in political power — for Appalachian communities to control their own economic futures?

Exercise 3: The Housing Affordability Crisis

a) Using Census data and real estate databases (Zillow, Redfin, or similar), research the housing affordability situation in one Appalachian community that has experienced significant growth (Asheville, Blacksburg, Boone, Lewisburg, or another community of your choice). Document: median household income, median home price, median rent, and the ratio of housing cost to income. How does this ratio compare to the national average?

b) Identify at least three specific policy tools that communities have used to address housing affordability: inclusionary zoning, community land trusts, short-term rental regulations, affordable housing bonds, or others. For each tool, describe how it works, what its advantages are, and what its limitations are.

c) The chapter describes the "Airbnb effect" — the conversion of long-term rental housing to short-term vacation rentals. Research the short-term rental regulations in one Appalachian community. What regulations exist? How are they enforced? What has been their effect?

d) Write a 500-word policy memo addressed to a town council in a mountain community that is experiencing rapid growth and rising housing costs. Recommend three specific actions the council could take to protect housing affordability for existing residents while still welcoming economic growth.

Exercise 4: The Broadband Gap

a) Using FCC broadband maps or ARC data, determine the broadband availability in your selected Appalachian county. What percentage of the county has access to broadband at speeds meeting the federal minimum definition? How does this compare to the state and national averages?

b) Identify at least three consequences of the broadband gap described in this chapter (limitations on remote work, telehealth, education, economic development). For each consequence, describe how it affects the community and who is most harmed.

c) Research one broadband expansion project in Appalachia — a fiber-optic buildout, a fixed wireless deployment, or a municipal broadband initiative. Describe the project, its funding sources, and its current status. What challenges has it encountered?

d) Write a 400-word essay on whether broadband should be treated as a public utility (like water or electricity) rather than a private service. What are the arguments on each side? What does the Appalachian experience suggest about the adequacy of market-based broadband provision?

Exercise 5: The Tourism Economy — Benefits and Costs

a) The chapter describes Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge and Asheville as two different models of tourism-dependent economies. Create a comparison table identifying the key differences between these models in terms of: type of tourism, jobs created, wage levels, environmental impact, cultural impact, and vulnerability to economic disruption.

b) The chapter draws a parallel between the coal-dependent economy and the tourism-dependent economy — both create reliance on a single economic force controlled by outsiders. How far does this parallel extend? In what specific ways is a tourism economy similar to a coal economy? In what specific ways is it different? Which differences are most significant?

c) Research the outdoor recreation economy in one Appalachian community. What recreational assets does the community have? What businesses have developed to serve outdoor recreation visitors? What jobs have been created? Who benefits, and who does not?

d) Write a 400-word proposal for a tourism development strategy that addresses the equity concerns raised in this chapter — a strategy that generates economic benefits while ensuring that those benefits reach longtime residents, protects affordable housing, and preserves the environmental and cultural assets that attract visitors in the first place.

Exercise 6: Community History Portfolio — Economic Future

This exercise connects to the Community History Portfolio checkpoint for Chapter 36.

a) Research the current economic profile of your selected Appalachian county. What are the major employers? What is the unemployment rate? What is the median household income? How has the economy changed in the last twenty years?

b) Has your county experienced any of the economic transformations described in this chapter — tourism growth, remote work migration, Latino immigration, tech investment, broadband expansion? If so, describe the transformation and its effects. If not, why not? What factors make some communities more or less attractive to new economic forces?

c) Interview (or research published accounts from) at least two residents of your county who have different perspectives on the community's economic future — perhaps a longtime resident and a newer arrival, or a business owner and a service worker, or a young person who plans to stay and a young person who plans to leave. Document their perspectives.

d) Write a 500-word analysis of your county's economic future. Based on the patterns described in this chapter and the data you have gathered, what are the most likely economic trajectories for the county over the next twenty years? What policies or investments could improve those trajectories? Whose interests should be centered in economic development decisions?