This Center on Rural Innovation report, part of the Rural Aperture Project supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, examines how the rise of the knowledge economy has widened economic disparities between rural and nonrural America. It highlights persistent poverty, unequal access to tech jobs, and structural barriers—such as broadband gaps and inequitable investment—that continue to limit rural opportunity, especially for communities of color. Aspen CSG is credited among the project collaborators for grounding the analysis in community realities. The report’s equity lens echoes Aspen CSG’s approach: understanding the historical and systemic roots of rural economic exclusion, while charting place-based strategies that empower rural communities to thrive in the knowledge economy of the future.
The Equity of Economic Opportunity in Rural America
