The dictionary of human geography defines development as:
A central keyword of twentieth-century political economy and social policy, which can broadly refer to processes of social change or to class and state projects to transform national economies, particularly in formerly colonized or third world geographies.
While riding down the Decker's Creek Trail, it's very easy to see that it was once a railroad. Besides the name of "rail trail," it was relatively flat, and flowed downhill along the creek, which is typical of railroads, following the path of least resistance. Water usually takes the best path of least resistance, so many rail lines in this part of the world built these lines based on what nature had already given them. This area is particularly famous for its coal, and shortly into the ride, we visited an old coke furnace. The coke furnaces were mostly overgrown and hard to tell what they used to be if one is not familiar with them. The evidence of the rail yard that was once there is all gone except for the old bridge we crossed over and a couple leftover railroad ties. This is an example of development, and how quickly things can change. The are was once not nearly as forested, and was polluted with smoke from the railroad and furnaces, but this was a necessary cost for Pittsburgh's steel industry development. The coke was burned down so it was lighter and easier to transport on the railroad, and then shipped to Pittsburgh's steel mills. This modernization and industrialization are often top-down focused with little involvement from the affected communities. )Clifford 2009)
As we traveled closer to Morgantown, we passed the Greer Limestone mine. This is yet another example of the uneven development that is typical of natural resource-rich areas like West Virginia and Appalachia. Property values in this area have to have decreased significantly, pollution has risen, etc. because of this mine. But because of this mine, we can build roads and put limestone scrubbers on our coal power plants for cleaner energy.
As we got closer to Morgantown, we began to see more developed areas on the hillsides. The neighborhood in which I grew up was on the left, and over the horizon were a dozen other cookie-cutter housing developments. Because of the history of the area that has been so deep in subsistence farming and small industrialized areas like the coke furnaces or the iron furnace referenced in the previous blog post has led to the fierce opposition to zoning regulations (Grason 2006), which has led to the types of developments we saw on this particular trip: Huge apartment and single-family home developments adjacent to mobile home parks adjacent to a gas station adjacent to an office building. This illustrates the concept of development and how the concept has changed over time, and how uneven development has impacted our lives in Appalachia.
As we made our way into downtown Morgantown and met up with the Monongahela River rail-trail (formerly the B&O Railroad), we saw what an incredible REdevelopment has happened there. Where there is now a park and amphitheatre and repurposed bus depot, and other facilities, used to be the slum of the city. This shows how the concept of development has changed over time. It was normal in the early twentieth century to have riverfronts and/or railroad areas to be slums. Now they types of redevelopment we have now is concidered normal.
Clifford, Nicholas J. Key Concepts in Geography. 2nd ed. London: SAGE Publications, 2009. Print.
Gragson, Ted, and Paul Bolstad. "Land use Legacies and the Future of Southern Appalachia." Society & Natural Resources 19.2 (2006): 175-90.
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