Economic and Population Issues in Somerset County, Maryland and the Broader Eastern Shore

The town of Crisfield was impacted heavily by Superstorm Sandy.  Going into its second year after Sandy's landfall, only one third of the houses impacted in Crisfield (the most heavily impacted town on the Eastern Shore) have been restored.  Infrastructure remains fragile and the economy, although temporarily improved to some degree by modest recovery funds, continues in a fragile state under long-term decline.  Overall, Crisfield's population continues in a long-term decline after being the second most prosperous city in Maryland during the late 1800s and early 1900s, before its fisheries largely collapsed with the decline in the Chesapeake Bay's ecosystem.  

Crisfield is only 31 miles from Salisbury, which has the largest university population on the DELMARVA peninsula. One asset to Somerset County, and Crisfield, is this proximity to the Eastern Shore's largest city, Salisbury, Maryland in Wicomico, County and its colleges.  Salisbry University, a branch of the University of Maryland and Sojourner-Douglass College bring a large population of students and faculty to Maryland's Eastern Shore.  This is potentially a strong asset to Somerset County, if research and educational links can be strengthened between Somerset County, and particularly Chrisfileld and these colleges in regards to resilience, sustainability, and EcoVilliage development.  

Unfortunately, Salisbury is also suffering from economic stagnation and population decline.  Salisbury's statistics provides a glimpse of the challenges the low-lying Eastern Shore faces in the early to mid-21st century, independent of climate change and sea level rise.  While nearly every metro area in the United States is projected to grow in 2014, Salisbury's economy is projected to decline by 3.8% in 2014, more than any metro area in the United States except for Cumberland, Maryland.  The area's employment level, which already declined 1.9% last year, is expected to shrink more than any other metro area in 2014, as well..  According to Moody's, the area's businesses and inhabitants have been spending and investing less than in previous years due to the storm and the delayed federal disaster aid.

Statistics for the Salisbury Area (compared to nationwide figures)

> 2013 GMP change: -2.2% (tied-7th worst)

> 2013 change in employment: -1.9% (tied-5th worst)

> Projected 2014 GMP change: -3.8% (2nd worst)

> Unemployment rate: 8.6% (66th lowest)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/01/fastest-shrinking-economi_n_4709026.html#slide=3381518

The advantages of resilience networks and EcoVillage development in Somerset County is that it would provide sustainable housing and jobs to Crisfield and its surrounding rural areas.  The proposed Crisfiled EcoVillages and their associated living labs, research, and coastal innovation center would provide an additional ecotourism revenue stream to the area.  Research funds would focus on 100% renewable energy, permaculture, fisheries restoration, collaborative services businesses, and distributed collectively intelligent grids development (smart micro grids).