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Urban-rural dynamics and scalar politics in rural water infrastructure development: historical case studies from North Carolina Taylor Braswell*, Taylor Braswell,

With challenges including aging infrastructure, rural population decline, and attempts at consolidation, much has been written about rural water systems in the United States. I draw attention to two less frequently discussed areas of rural water utility governance: local urban-rural dynamics and scalar politics. Drawing on historical case studies from North Carolina, I make two claims about the development of rural water utility infrastructure. First, tensions between urban and rural stakeholders have played a key role in structuring the development of rural water utility infrastructure, particularly in rural areas within and around the state’s metropolitan regions. Second, scalar politics have been an important mediating factor in managing these tensions, with rural stakeholders appealing to the state level of governance to protect their interests. Across cases, the extent of state-level intervention has shaped local dynamics of rural water infrastructure provision in variegated fashion. Together, these findings show that a spatially-attuned, multiscalar perspective is required to fully understand the development of water utility infrastructure in rural areas. This research contributes to the political sociology of rural water infrastructure and, more broadly, the local state.