More than a population movement: Post-COVID amenity migration and the contemporary social-ecological transformation of rural working lands

Amenity migration, the movement of urban populations to rural areas in search of lifestyle, natural, and cultural amenities, has intensified following the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly across rural working lands characterized by farming, ranching, forestry, and resource stewardship. While existing scholarship has examined the drivers and impacts of amenity migration, this phenomenon remains undertheorized as a broader process of social-ecological transformation. This viewpoint paper argues that post-COVID amenity migration represents more than a demographic shift, functioning instead as a transformative force reshaping rural working lands and broader agrifood and rural production systems.pGrounded in a social-ecological systems perspective, the paper develops an integrative conceptual framework linking three interconnected transformation pathways: (1) structural and institutional transformations, including fragmented ownership patterns, institutional adaptation challenges, and the emergence of hybrid governance arrangements; (2) reconfigurations of social dynamics and capacities, including changing community composition, civic participation, and knowledge systems; and (3) shifts in land use and production regimes associated with multifunctional and post-productivist landscape transitions. Together, these pathways demonstrate how demographic and land-use changes associated with amenity migration cascade across governance, ecological, economic, and social dimensions.pBy positioning amenity migration as a driver of multi-scalar rural transformation, this paper contributes to land-use scholarship by extending existing amenity migration research beyond demographic mobility and toward a more comprehensive understanding of contemporary rural transitions. The paper further highlights the need for adaptive governance, institutional realignment, and planning approaches capable of responding to increasingly fragmented and multifunctional working landscapes.