Urban Affairs and New Nontraditional Programs
Volume 1, Number 4	April - June 2002

Protecting prime farmland and open space and redeveloping blighted core areas of the inner cities invoke fighting words when debating urban-rural interface issues.

According to the 2000 Census, more than one-half of the American population now lives in suburban/metropolitan areas, thus we no longer have a rural or urban society, but a "suburban society". If we rejuvenate the inner (central) cities, this would slow the migration of people to the suburbs and save prime farmland and open spaces from urban sprawl.

Urban and rural families and communities can benefit from high profile programs in food safety and quality, environmental education, electronic communications, financial security, workforce preparation, entrepreneurship, community development, public issues in education, sustainable agriculture, diversity and pluralism, children, youth and families, and countless others. Successful urban-rural programs require the attention of Extension agents, specialists, and administration listening to tough, nontraditional urban issues; urban programs should not stand-alone. We must demonstrate strong and successful interdisciplinary, multi-state and regional programs. To do this, it means collaborating differently and out-of-the-box internally with campus directors, deans, presidents, Extension Committee on Organization and Policy and the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, as well as externally with nontraditional partners and stakeholders. We must prioritize and elevate the significance of urban-rural programs, gain support from research communities, including the Agricultural Experiment Stations and most of all; we need strong leadership-individuals who are sensitive and adaptable to both urban and rural audiences.

Are we ready to accept the challenges?

The Bullmastiff: A Giant of an Urban Dog

The Code of the Extension Worker

E-Learning & E-Conferencing Come to Alabama

Impact of Urban Forestry Development on Domestic Violence

In the Wake of Disasters

Interview with Hurricane Mitch Survivor

LifeSmarts

Raising Cane: Farmland Preservation

Urban and Rural--At the Interface

WECAN4U Exhibits at National Conference

Grassroots Connections

4-H Youth Entrepreneurship Program

No Smoke Screen: Health Fair Lets Students See Effects of Tobacco
as printed in the Lauderdale County Times Daily

Editorial Staff & Content Areas

If you have any questions, please contact the appropriate editorial staff member by content area. When in doubt, contact the editor.

Wendi Williams (Editor/National-International News)
wawillia@aces.edu

Jannie Carter, Ph.D. (County News)
jcarter@aces.edu

Edna Coleman (Specialist News)
ecoleman@aces.edu

Julio Correa, Ph.D. (Spanish Programming)
jcorrea@aces.edu

Kevin Crenshaw, Esq. (Legal Issues)
kkcren@aol.com

Jean Hall-Dwyer (Print/Electronic Design, Spanish Programming)
jhall@aces.edu

Erica James (Administrative News/Distribution)
ejames@aces.edu

Jacqueline Johnson, DVM (Online Database)
jujohnso@aces.edu

Jeanetta Williams (Proofreading/Distribution)
jwilliam@aces.edu

Phone: 256-851-5710 Fax: 256-851-5840