Southern Italy’s rural Calabria region announced an innovative project in 2021 to breathe new life into its small towns. It plans to offer young professionals thousands of dollars if they move in and commit to launch a business, preferably a business the community needs.

Northwest Arkansas has a similar program to draw new residents to rural towns such as Springdale by offering $10,000 and a mountain bike. Lincoln, Kansas, is offering free land to remote workers willing to relocate and build a home there.

These efforts take advantage of the growing work-from-home culture to try to revitalize rural communities that are in decline.

They may also hold a key to coping with anticipated domestic climate migration as storms and wildfires exacerbated by climate change make parts of the country unlivable.

As professors and authors focused on sustainability, we see ways in which projects such as these might help solve both the challenge of rural population loss and the likely acceleration of migration from climate-insecure cities. While this proposal may not be viable for every community, we believe it would benefit many towns seeking to reverse population loss and rejuvenate their economies.

Opportunities in climate migration

Global climate change presents an immediate problem. Millions of people worldwide will be at risk from sea level rise over the next two generations, while others will be driven away from regions of prolonged heat, drought and the threat of wildfires.

With people likely to move from at-risk places into nearby cities, those cities will likely see their public services stressed, their housing prices rise and their labor markets tighten, potentially displacing lower-income residents.

This presents an opportunity for some rural areas to encourage new residents to move in.

Read the full article about managed retreat by Hillary Brown and Daniel R. Brooks at GreenBiz.