Graduation Year
2026
Date of Submission
4-2026
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Environment, Economics, and Politics (EEP)
Reader 1
William Ascher
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Rights Information
© 2026 Cahal T Connolly
Abstract
This thesis examines population decline in small Northern California towns as a process of functional depopulation. Demographic loss becomes most damaging when it weakens the institutions that make communities livable. Focusing on rural towns facing aging populations, economic contraction, climate risk, housing instability, and service erosion, the thesis argues that sustainability cannot be measured by population change alone. Instead, towns must be evaluated according to their ability to maintain municipal services such as schools, healthcare, emergency services, infrastructure, local governance, and civic life. The thesis develops a stabilization framework that distinguishes among stabilizable, transitional, and structurally declining communities based on economic base, accessibility, demographic trajectory, governance capacity, and external support potential. It also highlights the tension between local preservation efforts and county or state level triage decisions about scarce resource allocation. The thesis argues that rural policy should move beyond generalized revitalization and toward differentiated strategies that preserve habitability, protect essential services, and direct public investment toward realistic forms of stabilization.
Recommended Citation
Connolly, Cahal T., "Diagnosis and Proposal for Addressing the Depopulation in Northern California Towns" (2026). CMC Senior Theses. 4158.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/4158
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