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Thursday, May 22
 

11:30am MDT

The Rise of Recreation Exurbs with Roger Kahn and Justin Farrell
Thursday May 22, 2025 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
"The Rise of Recreation Exurbs & The Demise of Community" describes a fifty-plus year economic, political and cultural evolution of what until now has been an unrecognized development in American society. This work focuses on four new American recreation exurbs that are representative of others like them: Martha’s Vineyard, MA, (a typical ocean-side resort); Crested Butte, CO, (representing mountain areas); Sedona, AZ, (a desert destination); and Lake Tahoe, CA & NV, (a large lakeside locale). This work discusses the causes and consequences of their evolution. It shows that in these places, over time, there has been a direct relationship between escalating real estate prices and the loss of a feeling of community among local residents. In fact, many long-time locals, because of increased real estate values, were forced out of the communities they had developed. For some of the other adverse effects of this development, such as the lack of affordable housing and a shrinking workforce, it suggests possible remedies.

Virtually all of these places are in beautiful, awe-inspiring environments which formerly were home to small, working and middle-class, tight-knit, communities based on either fishing, mining, logging, farming or ranching. Then, they became single-sport recreation towns (e.g., skiing or boating) that catered to a local and regional clientele. Following that phase, people who came with the recreation industry realized they needed a year-around economy. These areas evolved further into tourist towns and recreation communities with many amenities that served an ever-increasing national tourist base. Finally, during the last two decades of the twentieth century and the first quarter of the twenty-first, they became today’s new American recreation exurbs.
Speakers
avatar for Justin Farrell

Justin Farrell

Justin Farrell is a writer and professor at Yale, School of the Environment. He writes on nature, modern belief, and American culture, often using the rural American West as a setting. His work has won national awards and regularly appears in major media. He frequently presents work... Read More →
Thursday May 22, 2025 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
5 Kinder-Padon Gallery

5:00pm MDT

Crested Butte Magazine Release Party
Thursday May 22, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm MDT
Thursday May 22, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm MDT
4 Grace Atrium

6:00pm MDT

Community Read THE BULLET SWALLOWER with Elizabeth Gonzalez James @Gunnison Library
Thursday May 22, 2025 6:00pm - 7:00pm MDT
The Bullet Swallower is Mountain Words' and the Gunnison Library's Community Read. Author, Elizabeth James Gonzalez will be at the Gunnison Library Branch to read and speak to the community about her novel. 
Speakers
avatar for Elizabeth Gonzalez James

Elizabeth Gonzalez James

Elizabeth Gonzalez James is a screenwriter and bestselling author of the novels, The Bullet Swallower and Mona at Sea, as well as the chapbook, Five Conversations About Peter Sellers. The Bullet Swallower was named a best book of 2024 by NPR, Esquire, and elsewhere, was a Book of... Read More →
Thursday May 22, 2025 6:00pm - 7:00pm MDT
6 Gunnison County Public Library

6:00pm MDT

George Sibley Documentary and Award Presentation
Thursday May 22, 2025 6:00pm - 7:00pm MDT
Mountain Words honors one the Gunnison Valley’s most influential writers with the debut of a short film and a medley of guests presenters who have intersected with George Sibley.
Speakers
avatar for Shelley Read

Shelley Read

Shelley Read’s international bestselling debut novel, Go As A River, is translated into thirty-four languages and appears on bestseller lists worldwide. Winner of the 2024 High Plains Book Award for Fiction and the 2023 Reading the West Award for Best Debut, Go As A River is also... Read More →
avatar for Luke Mehall

Luke Mehall

Luke Mehall is the publisher of The Climbing Zine and host of the Dirtbag State of Mind podcast. He's written five books, including American Climber and The Desert, and is currently working on American Climber 2. He splits his time in Durango, Colorado and northern Mexico. These days... Read More →
Thursday May 22, 2025 6:00pm - 7:00pm MDT
1 Steddy Theater
 
Mountain Words Festival
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