Small-Town America Quotes

“that most Americans no longer live in small towns shapes the perceptions of those who do.”
― Robert Wuthnow, Small-Town America: Finding Community, Shaping the Future

“Bureaucratic organizations, such as corporations and government agencies, have formal leadership structures based on a hierarchical model of authority. Someone is officially in charge and commands authority by virtue of that position. In contrast, communities operate through a mixture of formal and informal authority. Formal authority resides in elected and appointed offices, such as mayor, councillor, and town administrator. Informal authority accrues to wealthy residents, philanthropists, clergy, and residents who volunteer for important committees. Community leadership is for this reason harder to define and more difficult to evaluate than leadership in formal organizations. It is no less significant. Leadership”
― Robert Wuthnow, Small-Town America: Finding Community, Shaping the Future