Housing is a rural issue, too
The Center for Critical Public Health interviewed young adult residents of northern California counties about their health and well‑being(1, 2). Access to stable and affordable housing came up time and time again.
Research on housing shortages has focused on urban communities, but rural communities are impacted too. When attention turns to rural housing issues, communities are sometimes painted with the broad brush of “rural decline.” But participants in our studies told a more nuanced story.
Illustrations by Baruch Inbar
Key themes
Icons (except quotation marks) by Anton at Noun Project
We are grateful for the support that we received throughout NorCal for this project. First, sincere appreciation is due to the 153 participants who volunteered their stories and time to us. Without them, this project would not have been possible. We are especially grateful to Shelly Brantley and all of her colleagues at RISE, the California Statewide Rural Coordinating Center. The project was further supported by the knowledge and expertise of Andrea Craddox, Professor of Psychology and Sociology at the College of the Siskiyous, by Eva Skuratowicz, Director of Southern Oregon University Research Center, and by the Mt. Shasta Community Center. We’d also like to thank our fantastic local research team — Shane Blanco, Amaia Kennedy, Clarissa Murillo, Julie Peach, Jay Santos, and Caitlyn Zepeda. And, last but not least, a huge thank you to all the local community members who provided valuable feedback on this poster series.