Ellen talks with Camden Blatchley, a data analyst with the Center on Rural Innovation (CORI). Camden discusses the complexities of defining rural and urban areas in the United States, and describes the differences between the two most commonly used definitions: one developed by the Census Bureau and the other by the Office of Management and Budget. Camden explains how these differing definitions can paint different images of rural America and reinforce narratives about rural and urban areas as a binary, when in reality they are a complex, diverse, interconnected continuum of geographies, people, and economic conditions. Camden also highlights his work on the Rural Aperture Project and the necessity for more accurate storytelling and policymaking that reflect the true state of interdependence of rural and urban areas.

Episode Highlights:

03:51 The Many Definitions of Rural

10:25 Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Rural America

15:42 Economic Realities and Misconceptions of Rural America

18:09 Rural-Urban Connections

More Information:
Camden Blatchly Bio

Center on Rural Innovation, https://ruralinnovation.us/

The Rural Aperture Project, https://ruralinnovation.us/resources/mapping-and-data-analytics/the-rural-aperture-project/

Defining Rural America, The Consequenes of How We Count, https://ruralinnovation.us/blog/defining-rural-america/

Who lives in rural America? How data shapes (and misshapes) conceptions of diversity in rural America, https://ruralinnovation.us/blog/who-lives-in-rural-america-part-i/

Who lives in rural America? The geography of rural race and ethnicity, https://ruralinnovation.us/blog/who-lives-in-rural-america-part-2/

The reclassification of rural counties and what it means for rural America, https://ruralinnovation.us/blog/the-reclassification-of-rural-counties-and-what-it-means-for-rural-america/

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