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Category: Project

Description: The purpose of this project is to generate a complete understanding of the relationship between water and sanitation infrastructure and economic development in rural America. Scholars of economic development have long presumed a positive return on investment to water and sanitation infrastructure upgrades in rural communities. However, there has been limited research substantiating either the positive or negative effect of this investment. Understanding this relationship is highly relevant as we focus on economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as holistic improvement of US infrastructure. This study, a joint venture between academia and the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP), builds on a series of recent studies documenting critical water and sanitation concerns in rural communities to provide a robust understanding of the relationship between water infrastructure and economic development through four specific objectives: (1) analyze the relationship between investments and improvements in water access and quality and economic development in rural American counties from 2000 to 2020; (2) Merge existing RCAP data on water infrastructure investment with the dataset used in Objective 1 to analyze the associations between specific rural water infrastructure projects and economic development in rural America; (3) Working with RCAP, conduct a series of case studies in rural communities who have received major water infrastructure projects across the United States; (4) Prepare a toolkit for policy makers, planners, and rural economic development leaders outlining the impacts of poor water infrastructure on economic development, as well as how to best improve that infrastructure to stimulate economic growth.