Rural Development
According to the United Nations, over half of the world’s population lives on less than two dollars a day. While poverty and hunger are most pronounced in developing nations, no region of the world is immune, including the U.S. where 32.9 million people live in poverty. Faculty and students at ECU are engaged in a variety of research and development projects focused on understanding the social, economic and environmental factors contributing to poverty as well as developing innovative approaches to improve the quality of life for communities in both the U.S. and internationally. Research areas include sustainable development, racial/ethnic/ gender inequality, livelihood strategies, pro-poor and community tourism, rural-to-urban and international migration, transportation and infrastructure, resource utilization and agricultural develop-ment. The Department of Geography offers an interdisciplinary masters degree concentration in Rural Development to provide students with the theoretical and practical skills necessary to pursue careers in development in both the public and private sectors.
Affiliated faculty: Derek Alderman, Tom Crawford, Holly Hapke, Ron Mitchelson, Jeff Popke.
