Green Migration into Rural America: The New Frontier of Environmentalism?

Abstract

This article proposes that shifts in rural population and economic growth patterns may help explain rising levels of support for environmental values in many rural areas. In particular, it assesses a model of "green migration" that assumes that domestic in-migration, with its impacts on the character and composition of rural communities, is one of the reasons environmental values may be gaining support in rural America. Results based on survey data obtained from two groups of rural residents of southern Appalachia lend support to the model. A majority of the in-migrants to the region came because of its environment, and protecting environmental values remained a high priority. In-migrants are a bit more knowledgeable about environmental issues, more concerned about the environment, place higher priority on environmental protection, and are more engaged in activities that promote environmental values than nonmigrants. Knowledge of the sociodemographic characteristics of both groups of rural residents is key to understanding how they differ on several indicators of environmentalism.