Appalachia Defined

A West Coast friend who just read my blog asked: So...what exactly is Appalachia?

You know the old adage about "assuming," right?

Obviously, this is a question that I should have answered in my first I Heart Appalachia blog. To help with the explanation, I surfed to the Web site for an important commission that was formed in 1963 to advise President John F. Kennedy and was established as a federal agency by Congress in 1965.

The Appalachian Regional Commission, a federal-state partnership that works for sustainable community and economic development in Appalachia, provides this definition:

Appalachia, as defined in the legislation from which the Appalachian Regional Commission derives its authority, is a 205,000-square-mile region that follows the spine of the Appalachian Mountains from southern New York to northern Mississippi. It includes all of West Virginia and parts of 12 other states: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

About 24.8 million people live in the 420 counties of the Appalachian Region; 42 percent of the region's population is rural, compared with 20 percent of the national population. The region's economic fortunes were based in the past mostly on extraction of natural resources and manufacturing. The modern economy of the region is gradually diversifying, with a heavier emphasis on services and widespread development of tourism, especially in more remote areas where there is no other viable industry. Coal remains an important resource, but it is not a major provider of jobs. Manufacturing is still an economic mainstay but is no longer concentrated in a few major industries.

In 1965, one in three Appalachians lived in poverty. By 1990, the poverty rate had been cut in half. These gains have transformed the region from one of almost uniform poverty to one of contrasts: some communities have successfully diversified their economies; some are still adjusting to structural changes in declining sectors; and some severely distressed areas still require basic infrastructure, such as water and sewer systems.

Below is the ARC's map of Appalachia, and here is a link to all of the states and counties that are included. While reading through the list, I just learned that I still live in Appalachia, even though I live in a metro Atlanta county. (This knowledge gives me the warm fuzzies.)



The ARC has done a great deal for Appalachia and the people who live there during its 45-year history. And the good that it has done continues....