Material Rhetorical Infrastructure as Limits and Limiter in small Texas Communities

This paper argues that infrastructure limits the capacity for people in rural areas and small towns to enact meaningful change. To argue this, the authors draw on data they collected together for an IC2-sponsored research project. In the summer of 2021, the authors interviewed 61 leaders in six small towns in Texas, asking them questions about cultural heritage and economic development. In this paper, the authors apply the literature on} “infrastructure” to this data and find that four types of infrastructure limit change: land, roads, zoning, and utilities. This paper is of interest to scholars of professional communication because the findings imply that revising infrastructure is the first step toward enacting community justice.