Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The Sunbelt is a contested construct adopted by scholars in the late 1970s from journalistic accounts of industrial relocation and shifts in population and political power to the Southern and Western regions of the US after World War II. The Sunbelt is defined by juxtaposing rapid economic growth and the rise of conservative politics in the South and West, with economic collapse and political liberalism in the Northeast and Midwest (Frostbelt). Sunbelt boundaries are ambiguous, depending on whether attention is directed to relocation of old industry, location of new industry, or political realignment. Sale's (1975) early designation of the Sunbelt as that area below the 37th parallel (northern border of North Carolina through lower third of California) was largely confirmed by Rice and Bernard's (1983) survey of business and public perceptions of the region, but other scholars believe the Sunbelt represents a sloppy form of regionalization that combines disparate patterns of growth and prosperity found in the South and West. While scholars quarrel about geographic boundaries, most agree the Sunbelt represents economic growth and conservative politics in a new urban environment. Spurred by federal investment in military and space programs, the expansion of Sunbelt defense, aerospace, electronics, agribusiness, oil and gas, and tourist industries places the region at the center of ... log in or subscribe to read full text