America’s Economic Experience: The Reality of the Rural/Urban Divide

Divides – economic, racial, cultural, and educational, to name just a few – exist between communities across the country. But the perceived divide between rural and urban areas have been a lightning rod for our national conversation over the past several years. Setti Warren, in conversation with two journalists working at both ends of this spectrum, a Harvard economist who studies regional economic divides, and author and Senior Fellow at the Shorenstein Center, Tara Westover, will dig into what is real about the divide between rural and urban America, and where we actually find more commonalities than differences across these communities. Come hear the real stories of what is happening economically in urban and rural America.

Panelists:

Connor Sheets, investigative reporter for the Alabama Media Group.
Phillip Martin, senior investigative reporter for The WGBH News Center for Investigative Reporting, based in Boston.
Dr. Gordon Hanson, Peter Wertheim Professor in Urban Policy at Harvard Kennedy School
Tara Westover, Author of Educated and a Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School
Setti Warren, Executive Director of the Shorenstein Center and former Mayor of Newton, MA.

Registration for this event has closed, you can view a live stream of the webinar here.

Many media organizations and elite institutions continue to promote GDP, stock market and unemployment metrics as leading indicators on the health of the economy. Yet, we know these measures do not reflect the economic reality for millions of people across America. The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy is kicking off a new initiative to address the gap between how people across the country experience economic opportunity, and how the economy is portrayed and understood by the media, government, and elite institutions. This event is part of a series of events and conversations around these topics planned for this summer and fall. You can find a recording of our first event in the series here.