‘‘I Still Have the Old Tradition’’: The co-production of sweetgrass basketry and coastal development Brian Grabbatin a,c,⇑ , Patrick T. Hurley b,d , Angela Halfacre b,e a College of Charleston, Environmental Studies, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC 29424, USA b College of Charleston, Department of Political Science, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC 29424, USA c University of Kentucky, Department of Geography, 1457 Patterson Office Tower, Lexington, KY 40506–0027, USA d Ursinus College, Environmental Studies, PO Box 1000, Collegeville, PA 19426, USA 1 e Furman University, Department of Political Science, Sustainability and Environmental Education, 3300 Poinsett Hwy, Greenville, SC 29613, USA 2 article info Article history: Received 24 July 2010 Received in revised form 18 June 2011 Available online 28 July 2011 Keywords: Coproduction Non-timber forest products Contemporary subsistence Political ecology Gullah South Carolina abstract Scholars working around the world have drawn attention to the physical and social changes associated with rural gentrification. Case studies from the United States have focused on how these patterns lead to the cultural displacement and replacement of land-based livelihoods, including non-timber forest product (NTFP) practices. Scholars have also documented the persistence of culturally and economically important NTFP practices in urban and suburban areas. We reconcile these disparate outcomes, displace- ment on the one hand and persistence on the other, by focusing on the social relationships that co-pro- duce land use and livelihood change. Our case investigates how African American sweetgrass basketmakers in Mount Pleasant South Carolina negotiate the complex terrain of a rapidly urbanizing and gentrifying landscape. Analysis of interviews with basketmakers and participant observation at public meetings suggests that gathering materials and selling baskets occur across spaces not typically considered important for NTFP practices. Access to these sites depends upon continually reinforced and negotiated social relationships between a variety of actors. Findings illustrate that, by themselves, development and gentrification are insufficient for explaining livelihood and land use patterns that emerge in places experiencing intensive development. Using a co-production framework, we acknowledge the wide variety of complex trajecto- ries and local power dynamics shaping land use and livelihoods. Findings also have implications for con- necting global research on housing, employment, and demographic transitions associated with rural gentrification, to international NTFP research, which is increasingly turning to rural–urban interfaces for insights on how livelihoods are linked to land development and migration. Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction I see residential development as a major threat. Much of the natural habitat where the sweetgrass grows has been replaced by concrete. We need to take action with our local, state, and federal officials... to create legislation that requires developers to preserve space for sweetgrass basket-stands and to assess the impact of development on this art form (Thomasena Stokes-Marshall, Mount Pleasant Town Councilwoman, 2005). The sweetgrass fountain, a place of repose in a busy part of our city, will be a permanent reminder of this art and an encourage- ment for us to make sure that we protect and preserve it, which will require having publicly owned or protected lands where these delicate grasses will continue to grow (Joseph P. Riley Jr., Mayor of Charleston, 2005). Scholars have raised concerns over amenity-driven develop- ment and urbanization of rural places, which leads to the cultural displacement and replacement of land-based livelihoods (Brogden and Greenberg, 2003; Friedberger, 1999; Ghose, 2004; Hurley and Halfacre, 2009; Walker and Fortmann, 2003). However, related re- search on land use change documents the persistence of non-tim- ber forest product (NTFP) practices, which contribute to the material and cultural survival of communities, even in rapidly developing regions of the United States (Emery and Pierce, 2005; Price and Kindscher, 2007; Robbins et al., 2008). In this article, we reconcile the conflicting outcomes suggested by these litera- tures, displacement on the one hand and persistence on the other, 0016-7185/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2011.06.007 ⇑ Corresponding author at: Department of Geography, University of Kentucky, 1457 Patterson Office Tower, Lexington, KY 40506-0027, USA. E-mail addresses: bcgr222@uky.edu (B. Grabbatin), phurley@ursinus.edu (P.T. Hurley), angela.halfacre@furman.edu (A. Halfacre). 1 Present address. 2 Present address. Geoforum 42 (2011) 638–649 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Geoforum journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/geoforum