Our Rural Mobility Thin Slice looks at a rural location in north-eastern Illinois. It considers how the effects of climate change will require the agricultural industry to rethink the way that it grows and harvests its products. As a result, the lives of generations-old farming families will adapt and, in most cases, to their benefit. We will describe typical days for members of a farming family. We describe how future land planning around a central, small-town hub can change the ways these family members will be able to be mobile and their important roles in the evolving agricultural industry.
Our future-casting exercises revealed Important considerations about how small and large agricultural enterprises will need to rethink how land is used to mitigate extreme contrasts in weather. Future market expectations about the quality and freshness of agricultural produce demand radical new ways of growing, harvesting and logistics.
Rural citizens may need and prefer a very different way of life to urban dwellers, but their mobile wellbeing and convenience should equally please them. We show how this can be.