Vermont's Inflection Point
Thoughts on the Green Mountain State after living here for nearly a year.
After graduating college last year, I took a chance and decided to pick up everything and move to Vermont to pursue a career in planning. I am now the Assistant Planner for the Lamoille County Planning Commission. Lamoille County is a smaller county in North Central Vermont, about an hour from Burlington. Known for its skiing areas around Mount Mansfield, Lamoille is one of the more rural counties in the state. small villages are dotted along the Lamoille River that meanders through the county it’s named after. The Lamoille County Planning Commission is the regional subdivision that assists the towns in the county with everything planning and government related.
A year in Vermont has been an incredible experience. I have been around long enough that I am familiar with the area, but I still identify as foreign to the community. This has allowed me to observe the workings of Vermont feeling defensive about the state. After visiting much of the state and working within the state’s governing framework, it is clear to see that the state is at a breaking point. Vermont is in the throes of a housing crisis and a (related) drug abuse crisis. The per capita unhoused rate is the second highest in the country. Health insurance costs are one of the highest in the country. As of the last census, the state is losing population.
All of these crises Vermont is facing are the symptoms of a previously local, isolated, economy fusing into a neoliberal hyperglobal one. What once was a fairly stable economic equilibrium of rural villages, farmland, and forests has been spun out of control after all the global economic shocks over the last 30 years.
In order to demonstrate my point, I want to focus on one community in particular: Morristown.
Morristown and its village center Morrisville combined are the most populated town and is in the center of Lamoille County. It is the largest population center along Vermont Route 15 which connects the population and economic hubs of Burlington and St. Johnsbury. Situated along the Lamoille River and within an hour’s drive of to multiple ski resorts, countless lakes, Burlington, Montpelier, and many other communities in Vermont, Morristown would appear to be the ideal candidate to be a bustling, quaint, town that is emblematic of the Vermont.
But today, downtown Morrisville is almost empty. Portland Street, its historic downtown thoroughfare, is home to a smattering of small businesses, a furniture construction company, and the town’s offices. Several buildings have been abandoned. How could such a uniquely geographically blessed town be so underwhelming? Old satellite imagery of the state from 1963 that might explain the story.
These two photos above show a dense, urban village next to farmland and some light industrial or commercial uses. All your daily needs were likely met within the village itself or on your farm. The land use provides evidence of a vibrant local economy, with most of the population living in proximity to their daily needs and jobs.
Now, let’s look at today’s google earth imagery:
The farmland to the north of historic Morrisville has been converted into commercial sprawl, named Morrisville Plaza. In Morrisville Plaza you can find a series of commercial chains such as McDonald’s, Dunkin Donuts, Dollar Tree, Hobby Lobby, among others. Most are the only franchise location of their kind in the county, with lower prices than the competing local versions. Morrisville Plaza is where you get groceries, furniture, or your car fixed, all for the lowest price.
The business has remained, even coalesced, in Morrisville. However, it has migrated not just from the historic Morrisville, but from every historic downtown neighboring Morristown to a single plot of commercial sprawl built in the 1980s (except for Stowe, but that is a separate story altogether). The business owners have changed from local community members to national or multinational corporations. The wealth is being sapped from the community. The creation of Morrisville Plaza is the paragon of the neoliberal disruption to Vermont’s economy, land use patterns, and most importantly, its culture.
Where once each village had some variation of a local economy for food and other daily necessities, these buildings were the cornerstones of their community. The introduction of big box stores and national chains have made those village stores economically obsolete. However, they could not replace the civic functions the village stores held as common meeting and gathering spaces for the local community.
While the businesses that have opened up in the county have benefitted, the workers have not. After outcompeting the local competition, these businesses can hire workers for minimum wage. In an expensive state like Vermont, these jobs are not enough to provide for oneself or their family. In conjunction with the transformation of the American economy from resource extraction and industry to technology and information, previously abundant well-paying jobs have dissipated from rural areas such as Vermont. A common sentiment espoused by Vermonters is that kids who grow up here must leave in order to find a make a living.
This is all not to say that Vermont is currently just another extension of American cultural homogeneity. In fact, it is impressive how resistant the state has been to the creep of the all-consuming American suburbia. Vermont is a culturally and historically rich region, with a multitude of organizations fighting to maintain the independent streak the Green Mountain State is known for (see: The Vermont Council on Rural Development). Most of Vermont, and most of Lamoille County is still the land of maple syrup, flannels, dairy, and quasi-Canadian accents. Vermont was an independent Republic before it joined the union, and that pioneering, independent streak continuously appears when you speak with Vermonters. Many times, this fear of change has gotten local communities to get in their own way when attempting to deal with the systemic crises they currently face. NIMBYism has many adherents in the state. Meanwhile, the State government is simultaneously understaffed and provides too many archaic environmental and housing regulations to provide sufficient space to build enough housing to alleviate the housing affordability crisis.
In order to begin the process of solving the crises afflicting Vermonters, we must first acknowledge the economic space we inhabit. The problems that Vermont faces do not have a silver bullet that will solve them. However, by recognizing that the current economic system puts rural places like Vermont at a disadvantage compared to urban areas is a start. A return to a more local economy that puts the wellbeing of its neighbors over the profits of faraway shareholders would be an excellent goal to strive towards. Vermont does not need another Morrisville Plaza. Vermont needs a stronger local economy.