How to Bridge the Rural / Urban Divide
The best chances at cultural reconnection happen through economic dependencies. The agriculture and food supply chain is a series of relationships and economic transactions that present hundreds of entry points for cultural bridging and human interaction.
We’re working on an initiative with the National Western Center to use agriculture to bridge the rural/urban divide in the US, and it’s made me realize that some of the best chances at cultural reconnection happen through economic dependencies.
The agriculture and food supply chain (from farm/ranch to table) is a series of relationships and economic transactions that present hundreds of entry points for cultural bridging and human interaction. By going to a farmer’s market and engaging in an economic exchange with a farmer, we are participating in the cultural act of bridging the rural/urban divide.
It makes me wonder about the entry points hidden within our economic dependencies that create opportunities for cultural cohesion: where are there cultural divides in need of bridging and what economic dependencies make that bridging easier?