The Impact of Carceral Institutions in Southern Appalachia

We wanted to look into the effects of prison development in the southern Appalachian region. We explored most deeply into the cultural, economic, and environmental effects that carceral expansion had within the region. We have found that carceral expansion and development in southern Appalachia served no long-term solution to a more systemic and historical issue of economic hardships and resource development. Additionally, through our research into the long-lasting effects of prisons in local Appalachian communities, it is evident that while carceral building projects do offer some initial economic gain they do not prove to be profitable long-term investments, as most of the labor is unskilled and not local. The large amounts of land and building resources used to construct the prisons take up valuable land and resources that could be used for more profitable infrastructure that would create more economic growth and opportunities for the local residents. Furthermore, aside from the long-term negative economic effects placed on these local communities both the environment and culture are often affected by these institutions as it is evident that prisons create a more hazardous and toxic environment and exacerbates cultural divides. These prisons perpetuate unfavorable cultural stereotypes associated with the region. The land that these prisons are built upon are already in poor condition from the coal mining the region used to be known for. To conclude, all of our sources indicated the same end result which demonstrates that prison development only leads to negative effects in the long-term.