From the Earth: The Environment, Economy, and Social Implications of Land Use Planning in the Mountain Communities

The coming decades is an exciting time for planning, and planning students like myself. As part of my curriculum as a Masters Candidate in Sustainable Urban Planning at George Washington University, I am working with my fellow student cohort on a real-world applicable planning project on the development of the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission. Currently the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission is slated to have an appointed commission co-chair later this year in an effort to uplift the blighted areas in the Blackbelt. The Blackbelt is facing many challenges, but with the strategic investment in the Southeastern United States, there is the opportunity to uplift the systemic, persistent poverty in the region. As the country is evolving to promote equity, justice, economic empowerment and environmental justice this Studio class, offers an exciting opportunity to make recommendations in the form of a professional planning document that defines the issues in the area, provides the current status of economic development and?recommendations on how the states might work together to promote.

In preparation for preparing a planning document, book reviews were conducted to understand the history of the Southeastern Crescents States and the key themes influencing today. The intersection of nature and land use within remote mountain communities is illustrative of both the diversity and resilience within the rural mountain communities hidden in the Southeastern Crescent. In Managing the Mountains: Land Use Planning, the New Deal, and the Creation of a Federal Landscape in Appalachia, Sara M. Gregg takes us through the tumultuous and complicated history of the effect land use planning has on the environment, social and economic landscape. Dr. Sara Gregg has focused her work on the juxtaposition between the economic shift of agricultural history, and land policy, specifically in ways in which people and ideas have influenced and change the agenda.??

Throughout the 1920 and 1930s, there was a major shift in the American psyche, and that changed the role of government in land use and conservation. Understanding and awareness and value in preserving lands as a resource and source of beautiful scenery changed the momentum of land use and planning from the local, state, and federal perspective. This progressive idea of preserving soils, forests, and the surrounding scenery that can ultimately benefit the community was put to fruition in the 1930s with funding, man power, and political influence that would shape much of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and the Green Mountains of Vermont. But conserving these lands would come at a cost to the rural families that have called these mountain hollows home for decades.

Rather than focusing on the political and historical context of the mountain planning, Gregg explores the cultural differences, alluding to the heart of mountain communities and the influence of federal planning on what would become Shenandoah National Park. Gregg utilizes three decades of archival information and testimonies to investigate the agro-ecological evolution of individuals and communal lands used?on the trajectory of conservation planning, politics, and implementation of the eventual development of National Parks and National Forests lands. Through exploring the testimonies of the local people, this book explores the perspective of the marginalized communities that have had a great influence on the outcomes of regional planning decisions.

Before the government intervened to build what is now known as Shenandoah National Park, there were mountain communities living in the shadows of the peeks and hollows. These resilient communities that have been developed and sustained for decades were forcibly taken by political prowess of Washington DC and the progressive era of ideas. Gregg, divides her book into two sections, Origins and Projects to encompass the historical events that took place, while daylighting the stories and opposition of the forgotten Mountain communities. ?

To an outsider, these mountain communities were distressed and “scum of the earth” living compared to the hustle and bustle of the city. By relocating these families and assuming their lands for the use of a National Park, the federal and state- governments were providing a public service. In the Shenandoah Mountain hollows, these farming communities faced environmental hardships of the climate (droughts and fires) and terrain (crop devastations and poor soil), but were resilient and able to provide for their families. Hidden in the scenic hollows and valleys of the mountain range, local archetypes opened the Skyrim lodge to attract visitors and create a source of employment for the distressed farmlands. Despite its outwardly appearance, the mountain communities were strong and able to build a community. Gregg illustrated a sympathy to these communities and paid homage to them in her book. Her writing poses a question- was it worth it? The federal government was presumably doing these distraught communities a favor by relocating them and assuming their lands for the benefit of the greater public good of a national park.

In 1924 when the Southern Appalachian National Park Committee was formed by congress to survey the Blue Ridge Mountains for a new national park, many of the present farmsteads were under the false appearance of being untouched by humans. The Committee presented the boundaries for Shenandoah National Park, forgoing the private land the Commonwealth of Virginia would have to acquire to present these boundaries to the federal government. The land within the proposed boundaries will have to be purchased to eventually make up the park, and mountain communities that were private lands would be “relocated”. From the planning perspective of the federal and state government, creating the national park would provide environmental conservation, economic opportunity, and increased access to green spaces from Washington DC. In telling the story of the Shenandoah National Park, Gregg showcases the goals of federal planners and the abilities of local voices to influence the outcomes of policy.

The shift in public opinion on the importance of environmental conservation and the role of the federal government, has led to the development of green recreational places being used as political power. Shenandoah National Park spawned a political prowess that would drastically shape our present landscape. President Herbert Hoover was one of the biggest proponents of building a new National Park and even bought a summer home in the Blue Ridge Mountains. His presence in the Shenandoah - building schools, conducting relief campaigns for the families, and prompting the role of the federal government, helped to facilitate the increased relief needed in the region as early as 1931. When Franklin Roosevelt took office in 1932, the then proposed Shenandoah National Park changed public opinion and the outcome of the election. The political ramifications of federal planning in the mountain regions can still be felt today. As the federal government swept in and took control of the federal landscape, the voice of the local populations went unrecognized. Despite the incredible benefits Shenandoah National Park provides for the region, there was still large displacement of the marginalized mountain communities.

Gregg’s account on the Managing the Mountains: Land Use Planning, the New Deal, and the Creation of a Federal Landscape in Appalachia underscored all the players influencing the planning perspective. Considerations of the local voices and populations, the natural environment and landscape, the potential economic and social gains, and the political ramifications has shaped the Southeastern Crescent States. Taking into account all of the forces that implemented Shenandoah National Park, Gregg’s synthesis and consideration for the local voices create a perspective to federal planning that needs to be taken into account when standing up a Federal Commission.?

Hear from Gregg herself as she presents to the Virginia Historical Society on the impacts of federal planning on these rural communities: https://virginiahistory.org/learn/historical-media/managing-mountains-land-use-planning-new-deal-and-creation-federal-landscape