Amenities, Affluence, and Ideology: Comparing Rural Restructuring Processes in the US and Norway

In this paper we analyse how conceptions of nature and rural space, combined with broader structural influencesparticularly rural restructuring and neoliberal ideologyimpact community development in rural amenity areas. Building on qualitative data (in-depth interviews, photo-elicitation, and participant observation), the paper applies interactional theory of community to analyse the amenity-based restructuring narratives of two rural communities: Bayfield County in Wisconsin, USA, and Hitra/FrOya in Norway. Three primary conclusions are drawn: 1) while amenity-led development occurs because of rural contrast, the trappings of urban life are growing in importance; 2) consumption may be the driving force behind growth and change in many 'post-productivist' rural areas, but landscapes are actively produced to capitalize upon local amenities; and 3) the study areas are in different phases of maturation, where Norwegian social attitudes about land seem to be shifting from a 'traditional' mentality towards a more 'American' mentality.