Van Sant & Fairbairn: Towards a Right to the Rural?

In Towards a Right to the Rural?, Levi Van Sant (Integrative Studies, George Mason University) and Madeleine Fairbairn (Environmental Studies, University of California-Santa Cruz) explore the conceptual framework of “a right to the rural” by examining access to rural spaces and the role of rentiership in shaping land control struggles.  

Drawing inspiration from the “right to the city” concept, the right to the rural can serve as a framework to re-prioritize land access. Right to the rural is an inclusive concept. Rather than focusing on the rural and urban binary, this concept views the rural and urban as an ongoing process: rural places dominated by extraction and production are linked to urban landscapes dominated by consumption. 

The authors focus on the discourse on access for a variety of reasons. One is the concern that focusing on ownership struggles may unintentionally view private property ownership as the totality of rural life. Similarly, discourse on access broadens the field of struggle by expanding movements beyond the private property binary of owner/non-owner. This is important given the rise in rural renting. 

Three land access case studies are used to explore the potential of the conceptual framework of “a right to the rural.” These case studies focus on public access to private conservation easements, labor advocates’ access to farmworkers on private land, and libertarian claims to access federal resource lands.  

The cases highlight five access struggles: recreational, mobility, subsistence, cultural, and regulator. Recreation access is the ability to use land for hunting, fishing, or hiking. Mobility is the ability to cross private land. Subsistence access is land use for food or shelter. Access to sacred sites is cultural use. Finally, regulatory is the use of land subject to government inspections or oversight.  

Van Sant and Fairbairn believe the right to the rural framework can provide a common language that connects movements across the urban/rural divide. They encourage future research to further elaborate on the concept of place-based rights and access struggles in a settler colonial context.