According to the U.S. Census, about 60 million people, or one in five individuals, live in rural America representing 97% of America’s land mass and contributing to 10% of the country’s gross domestic product. The perception of what a rural area is varies extensively, but for many, what comes to mind is a landscape consisting of farms, rolling foothills, and shuttered factories, inhabited by predominantly white communities.

The truth is that rural areas are as diverse as they are vast in terms of landscape, communities, and people with almost 22% of the rural population identifying as non-white. The key point is that there is no one all-encompassing definition of rural. The diverse history, cultures, and needs of rural communities vary from place to place—while rural areas are different from suburban and urban areas, they’re different from other rural areas too. This diversity means that rural communities are on different paths; some communities have continued to thrive while improving their quality of life and experiencing stable or growing economies, while others have witnessed a long and slow decline.

In this report, we explore the different ways that rural communities can adapt to thrive in a changing America, with a primary focus on active and multimodal modes of transportation as a tool. The presumption that living in a rural area inevitably means being dependent on a personal vehicle and driving long distances to access essential services negates the identities, experiences, and needs of the people in these complex and diverse communities. The more than 1 million rural American households without cars face unique barriers as alternate modes are not always accessible or affordable. Rural non-drivers—including older adults, low-income individuals, school-aged children, and people with disabilities—need independent mobility options to take advantage of social and economic opportunities.

What does that look like in day-to-day life? Through various studies, we’ve known for a couple of decades that older adults who no longer drive make 15% fewer trips to the doctor, 59% fewer trips to shop or eat out, and 65% fewer trips to visit friends and family, than drivers of the same age. And, recent studies have shown that people in rural areas are just as likely to walk to places for leisure and transportation as those located in urban areas if the options are safe and accessible. But, rural areas face an increased risk of traffic death compared to their urban counterparts—while close to 19% of the US population lives in rural areas, they account for 49% of all traffic deaths.

It is necessary to re-evaluate outdated understandings of rural America to bridge these gaps, strengthen rural economies, and implement safer, sustainable, and equitable transportation networks and services for these communities.