Diamonds in the Rough: the Gentrification of Rural Washington

Primary tabs

Age Group:

Adults, Teens
Please note you are looking at an event that has already happened.

Program Description

Event Details

Washington’s rural communities are rapidly changing. Formerly reliant on working-class industries like mining, oil, and agriculture, an influx of wealthy urbanites is looking for a different kind of experience that includes natural amenities, outdoor recreation, and cultural activities. But in doing so, research shows that these newcomers are causing new inequalities.

Join Jennifer Sherman, professor of sociology, to discuss both the glaring and the hidden effects of rural gentrification. 

Jennifer Sherman (she/her) is a professor of sociology at Washington State University. Her qualitative research focuses on poverty and inequality, mainly in the rural Northwest. She is the author of two books, the most recent of which is titled Dividing Paradise: Rural Inequality and the Diminishing American Dream (2021), and the coeditor of the 2017 volume, Rural Poverty in the United States.