“Culture Clash'' Revisited: Newcomer and Longer‐Term Residents' Attitudes Toward Land Use, Development, and Environmental Issues in Rural Communities in the Rocky Mountain West*

Abstract

Many rural communities in the Rocky Mountain West with high amenity values have experienced substantial in‐migration in the 1990s. Popular media accounts and some social science literature suggest that newcomers have very different values than longer‐term residents regarding environment, growth, and development issues, and that these differences are resulting in widespread social conflict. We evaluate these “culture clash” and “gangplank” hypotheses using survey data from three rural communities in the Rocky Mountain West that are experiencing amenity‐related in‐migration. We examine attitudes about environmental concern, population growth, economic development, and tourism development. Results indicate that newcomers differ significantly from longer‐term residents on a number of sociodemographic dimensions, but either there are no significant attitude differences between the two groups, or, where difference exist, longer‐term residents wish more strongly than newcomers to limit population growth and development in their communities. We offer explanations for why the results differ from media accounts and from the earlier research observations and hypotheses.

The Social Value of Second Homes in Rural Communities

“…Following this line of thinking, it is proposed here that second home owners might act as autonomous bridges, though it is less obvious that they are weak or hitherto silent ties. New rural residents, permanent or seasonal, are often vociferous in wanting to shape their environments, regularly seeking to protect personal interest (Smith and Krannich 2000). They may even have a "transformative" agenda (see below) that is misaligned with broader community interests and causes friction.…”

Store Attributes as Determinants of Store Loyalty - Moderating Effect of Rural versus Urban Apparel Shoppers -

“…Kean et al (1998) Several studies have investigated the differences between rural and urban communities in terms of their residents' behaviors, attitudes, and lifestyles (Glenn & Hill, 1977;Smith & Krannich, 2000).…”

“…Previous researchers found that these different attitudes and behaviors were attributable to different characteristics of rural and urban societies including occupation, age, religion-ethnicity, the degree of population concentration, the size of community (Glenn & Hill, 1977), education of the citizens (Smith & Krannich, 2000), and the lifestyles of the people living within the community (Lowe & Peek, 1974).…”

“…Although several studies have compared general characteristics, lifestyles, or interpersonal relationships between rural and urban residents (Glenn & Hill, 1977;House et al, 1988;Beggs et al, 1996;Smith & Krannich, 2000), very few studies have taken into account comparisons between urban and rural customers' shopping behavior (Sun & Wu, 2004). …”

“…Several early studies discuss the differences between rural and urban consumers in terms of their behaviors, attitudes, and lifestyles (Glenn & Hill, 1977;Smith & Krannich, 2000). Rural people are more likely to be traditional, prejudiced, and ethnocentric, while people in urban areas are prone to favor change (Lowe & Peek, 1974).…”