Part 9/12:
As economic activity declines, small county towns face an accelerating exodus of residents. Young people leave in search of opportunities, leaving behind an aging population that sustains a shrinking local economy. Schools shut down due to lack of students, hospitals see fewer patients, and entire towns begin to resemble villages—silent, aging, and dependent on subsistence activity.
This reverse urbanization signifies a paradoxical decline: towns that were once boosted by government-led urbanization now regress into quiet, impoverished rural-like settlements. The infrastructure remains, but the vitality and hope are gone.