美国国家公共电台 NPR As Rural Towns Lose Population, They Can Learn To 'Shrink Smart'

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Some researchers think they've found a way for rural towns to manage an almost universal problem. Many rural American towns face depopulation. They've been declining in population for decades. Some hope for big turnarounds that will draw people back, but the researchers in Iowa think there's a better way, a more practical way, borrowed from towns in Eastern Europe to improve even as they lose population. Here's Frank Morris of member station KCUR.

FRANK MORRIS, BYLINE¹: Back when big families worked small farms, Americans built tens of thousands of towns that those families relied on to sell their crops and to buy just about everything else. Those days are long gone, and now remote, rural towns with a strong economic anchor are the lucky ones.

Business is booming here at Sukup manufacturing in Sheffield, Iowa. They make those big, round, steel bins² you see dotting the grain belt. Charles Sukup says he's hiring about as fast as he can and already employs close to 700 people in this town of just over 1,100.

CHARLES SUKUP: Well, I guess our philosophy is you bloom where you're planted.

MORRIS: But Sukup's dedication³ to Sheffield hasn't been enough to shield it from the larger social and economic headwinds buffeting⁴ small towns.

KIMBERLY ZARECOR: The big picture for all rural communities that don't have a connection to a growing metro⁵ area is that they are going to get smaller over time.

MORRIS: Kimberly Zarecor teaches at Iowa State University and argues that little towns should stop beating themselves up for losing population and instead focus on making life better for the residents they still have.

ZARECOR: We call this the Shrink Smart Project.

MORRIS: It's an idea that dawned on Zarecor when she studied in a city in the Czech Republic, one that saw its local coal and steel industry collapse⁶ 30 years ago.

ZARECOR: Ostrava is a place that's shrinking, losing people, but it's still a place that people love to live in, are very loyal to. And it's also a place that outsiders look at and think, I don't want to be there.

MORRIS: Sounds like any number of small American towns, right? Zarecor says the difference is that Ostrava is embracing the idea that it can shrink and still improve. Zarecor and her colleague at Iowa State, Dave Peters, want to bring that paradigm⁷ shift to rural America. Peters says they're conducting surveys to figure out how it is that some remote, rural towns manage to make life better for their residents even as their populations drain away.

DAVE PETERS: So Sac City is probably one of our best examples of shrink smart in that the quality of the services, the quality of the government, the quality the community, it's phenomenal.

MORRIS: That's Sac City, Iowa - population 2,200 and falling.

(LAUGHTER)

MORRIS: It's 7 a.m. and members of the Sac City Community Foundation are discussing possible projects - $2,500 to build a bike path, maybe chipping in for a marketing⁸ campaign. Board member Steve Irwin says that while Sac City wants to grow, it's quality of life that comes first.

STEVE IRWIN: It's more about how the people feel about their towns. Are they happy? Do they have a sense of community? Do they have the essentials of life? Do they have health care and recreation?

MORRIS: Smaller than most cities' tiniest suburb, Sac City boasts a hospital, a nice rec center, two pools, schools, a library, robust⁹ day care, even a roadside attraction - the world's largest popcorn¹⁰ ball, a confection that weighs more than 4 1/2 tons - this in a town that's lost a big chunk¹¹ of its economic base and a third of its population since the 1980s. Irwin says the secret sauce here is people, super-involved citizens, willing to work together for the good of the town.

IRWIN: You know, we always seem to have a champion for a project, somebody or some group or something that kind of takes the lead.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: We're gaining.

MORRIS: A couple of men are building a new shelter in Sac City's leafy cemetery¹². It's a very small part of the work funded by one of the town's former champions, John Criss, a local businessman who died and left $5.7 million to beautify Sac City. This came as a complete surprise, even to Renae Jacobsen, who Criss left in charge of the fund.

RENAE JACOBSEN: I think it was just his way of giving back to the town - probably saw that it needed some beautification, some work, and he just didn't want to see it die out like so many small towns do.

MORRIS: Global economic forces will likely keep grinding away at many remote, rural towns. But people in Sac City hope that by working collaboratively, they can little by little raise the quality of life even as population declines. For NPR News, I'm Frank Morris in Sac City, Iowa.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE AMERICAN DOLLAR'S "DISTANCE TO GIBRALTAR")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 bins   

n.大储藏箱( bin的名词复数 )；宽口箱（如面包箱，垃圾箱等）v.扔掉，丢弃( bin的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Garbage from all sources was deposited in bins on trolleys. 来自各方的垃圾是装在手推车上的垃圾箱里的。 来自辞典例句
• Would you be pleased at the prospect of its being on sale in dump bins? 对于它将被陈列在倾销箱中抛售这件事，你能欣然接受吗？ 来自辞典例句

3 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

4 buffeting   

振动

参考例句：

• The flowers took quite a buffeting in the storm. 花朵在暴风雨中备受摧残。
• He's been buffeting with misfortunes for 15 years. 15年来，他与各种不幸相博斗。

5 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

6 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

7 paradigm   

n.例子，模范，词形变化表

参考例句：

• He had become the paradigm of the successful man. 他已经成为成功人士的典范。
• Moreover,the results of this research can be the new learning paradigm for digital design studios.除此之外，本研究的研究成果也可以为数位设计课程建立一个新的学习范例。

8 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

9 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

10 popcorn   

n.爆米花

参考例句：

• I like to eat popcorn when I am watching TV play at home.当我在家观看电视剧时，喜欢吃爆米花。
• He still stood behind his cash register stuffing his mouth with popcorn.他仍站在收银机后，嘴里塞满了爆米花。

11 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

12 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。