Insiders and outsiders: social change, deviant others, and sense of community in a boomtown

Abstract

In the last decade, the city of Fort McMurray, Alberta has undergone significant social changes due to the rapid growth of the oilsands industry in and around the city. In this short period of time, Fort Murray's population has more than doubled attracting migrants from all over Canada and internationally to fill labor shortages in the city. In the process, Fort McMurray has become a twenty-first century boomtown. Drawing on in-depth interviews, this article examines how young people and (adult) key informants perceived disorder, crime, risk, and boomtown living. It was found that participants drew a sharp distinction between those who contributed to the community by making Fort McMurray a home (the insiders) and those who did not (the outsiders). Blame for many of the negative aspects (i.e., disorder, crime, and risks) that came along with boomtown living was attributed to these outsiders.

Does Shale Energy Development Mean More Crime? The Case of the Bakken Oil Boom

“…A recent case study conducted by Genareo and Filteau () on an unidentified school district in North Dakota revealed that local residents tend to attribute social disruptions and risks to newcomers. A similar conclusion was also drawn by O'Connor () on the city of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada.…”

"You shouldn't worry walking a block and a half to your car": Perceptions of Crime and Community Norms in the Bakken Oil Play

“…Further, population growth, not only in energy boomtowns, can lead to perceptions of increased crime (Brown, 2011;Kennedy & Krahn, 1984). Studies in energy growth communities outside of the Bakken oil play have also focused on how residents perceive crime and disorder (O'Connor, 2015;Ruddell & Ortiz, 2014). Ruddell and Ortiz (2014) found that more residents of a boomtown thought that crime had increased in their community than respondents to a general survey of Canadians, and that their worries about crime decreased along with actual crime rates over the study period.…”

Mobilities, Fixities and Stabilities in Rural Pennsylvania's Natural Gas Boomtowns: Re‐Conceptualising Boomtown Development Through a Mobilities Lens

“…Much of this work, for example, has examined the social dislocation of rapid growth and development and the tensions between newcomers and longer term residents, and/or the strains on local social institutions (Freudenburg et al . ; Jacquet and Stedman ; O'Connor ; Stockdale ). Other work has more closely examined boomtown development from a longitudinal perspective, looking at social and economic impacts across the boom‐bust cycle, as rapid economic expansion gives way to production slowdowns and industrial scale backs once the resource has been depleted or extraction and development is otherwise no longer feasible (see, e.g., Shelton et al .…”