Rural Sustainable Development in America offers a multidimensional look at theory, strategic planning, and real-world experience that provides planners and others with important tools to use in cultivating a sustainable future for rural America.

Contributions by leading experts from a range of disciplines first explore the philosophical and ecological underpinnings of sustainable development within a global and local context. The second part of the book examines regional and local planning and policy issues, and the final section assesses the success or failure of alternative rural-urban symbioses in agriculture, waste management, greenways and trails, and regional revitalization.

Encompassing several shades of "greenness," this thought-provoking volume truly reflects the diversity of views and approaches that are driving the theory and practice of rural development into the twenty-first century. It is a vital addition to the literature that will inform readers of ever ideological orientation and professional perspective - in such areas as rural geography, planning, policy, and economic development; agricultural economics; landscape architecture; and public administration.