In Uneven Growth and Unexpected Drivers of Ethnoracial Diversity across Nonmetropolitan and Metropolitan America, Matthew M. Brooks (Sociology and Center for Demography and Population Health, Florida State), J. Tom Mueller (Population Heath, University of Kansas Medical Center), Brian C. Thide (Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education and Population Research Institute, Pennsylvania State), and Daniel T. Lichter (Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell) bring attention to ethnoracial diversity in Nonmetropolitan America by providing an updated statistical portrait of ethnoracial diversity in the United States since 2000.  

In Unlikely Alliances in Action: Balancing Alignment and Autonomy in Rural-Urban Water Conflicts, Sophia Borgias (Public Service, Boise State University), Kate Berry (Geography, University of Nevada-Reno), and Dalten Fox (Arts and Sciences, University of South Alabama) emphasize the positive impact of “unlikely alliances” arising from efforts to tackle critical environmental issues. The authors employ a “place-based and historically embedded” approach to explore the internal dynamics of alliances among groups that have traditionally been in opposition.

In Eliminating Stereotypes: Villages as Desirable Spaces for Partying among Spanish Youth, Laura Pavón-Benítez, Nuria Romo-Avilés (both Women and Gender Studies, University of Granada, Spain), José Manuel Álvarez-Montoya (Social Anthropology, Basic Psychology and Public Health, University of Pablo de Olavide Sevilla, Spain), and Penélope Sánchez-González (Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Granada, Spain) contrast the discourse and assumptions that young people have regarding sociocultural opportunities for social life  in Spanish villages, specifically leisure activities in the form of partying and local festivals.

In Rural Development in the Digital Age: Exploring Information and Communication Technology through Social Inclusion, John J. Green (Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State University) addresses the Rural Sociological Society as President of the organization to encourage research into how information and communication technologies (ICTs) might foster social inclusion at the local and regional level, especially for often-overlooked places.

In Do Rural Places Matter?, Stephen Clowney (University of Arkansas Law School) explores various arguments in support of continued investment in rural places. Clowney questions the strength of these arguments but ultimately endorses renewed investment in rural spaces by proposing a new approach to addressing the challenges facing rural communities.

In Misrecognition and Well-being in Culturally White Northern England, author Emily Walton examines the social experience of rural racial minorities. Walton’s research outlines the social experience of minority populations in rural areas, and how such interactions impact racialized minorities’ health and sense of belonging.

In Shared Housing as a Missing Middle Solution for Rural Communities, Alison Lintal (Penn State Dickinson School of Law) discusses the benefits of shared housing arrangements as a potential solution to the housing crisis for rural communities facing shifting demographics. This article presents the history of shared housing in rural spaces while also addressing the legal and social obstacles to future implementation. Lintal also delves into the challenges of developing shared housing due to “arcane” zoning and regulatory restrictions. The author employs a holistic approach to address the proposed benefits, challenges, and necessity of implementing shared housing programs.

In Ambulance Deserts: Geographic Disparities in the Provision of Ambulance Services authors Yvonne Jonk, Carly Milkowski, Zachariah Croll, and Karen Pearson (all of the Maine Rural Health Research Center, Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine) provide a nation-wide analysis of access to ambulance services in the United States.