The changing nature of mining towns: Reflections from Australia, Canada and South Africa

Marais, Lochner; McKenzie, Fiona Haslam; Deacon, Leith; Nel, Etienne; Rooyen, Deidré van; Cloete, Jan

doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.03.006

Cited by 47 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Existing literature that examines RBCs, often referred to as boomtowns, notes that many of these communities, despite positive economic growth, often experience not only negative environmental impacts from resource extraction but also negative social conditions such as increased crime and/or fear of crime (Ruddell ; Ruddell and Ortiz ), alienated youth (England and Albrecht ; Cox et al ), social isolation, depression, marital breakdown, and substance abuse (Cortese and Jones ; Albrecht ; Lawrie et al ; Ruddell ; Hirsch et al ). Historically, RBCs were small rural communities that developed to support the extraction of a natural resource (Marais et al ) and followed a pattern of rapid and unrestrained development of the built environment, a social atmosphere of overindulgence, and an eventual decline in economic activity and population growth (Randall and Ironside ; Hostetter ; Mitchell and O'Neill ). This pattern continues in RBCs as a direct outcome of the surge of workers who move to a community in search of employment resulting in increased demands for basic urban infrastructure and services.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The social makeup of RBCs contributes to many of the documented concerns and the instability typical in these communities and is largely associated with a primarily male workforce who are away from their partners and families (Gill 1991;Hostetter 2011;Connell 2016). The social structures in RBCs are influenced by industry employment practices and case studies into RBCs in Australia and Canada have highlighted the relationship between employment structures and community well-being (Storey 2001;Carrington and Pereira 2011;Hoath and Haslam-McKenzie 2013;McKenzie et al 2014;Perring et al 2014;Marais et al 2018).…”

Section: Workforce Structuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Supporting social sustainability in resource‐based communities through leisure and recreation

Lamanes¹,

Deacon²

2018

Canadian Geographies / Géographies canadiennes

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Community development can be conceptualized as a balance that exists amongst environmental, economic, and social systems; this achievement, however, is difficult for communities undergoing rapid urban development. In particular, resource‐based communities (RBCs) that develop as a result of investment into the extraction of a natural resource such as oil and gas have been found to experience uneven economic development, environmental degradation, and social instability. A contributing factor to social instability in RBCs is the reliance on a large transient workforce drawn to the area in search of employment opportunities and the inability to provide this burgeoning population with sufficient urban infrastructure and services. Building on previous research that theorized the key to increasing the sustainability of RBCs is to retain a permanent population, this research explores the contribution that opportunities for leisure and recreation makes to resident retention. Using Fort McMurray, Alberta as a case study, results indicate that among a group of people who lack established social ties, the main source of social interaction is participation in leisure and recreation activities. However, traditional activities associated with leisure and recreation did not take into account the unique challenges found in RBCs indicating an adaptable approach to provision is necessary.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Workforce Structuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting social sustainability in resource‐based communities through leisure and recreation

Lamanes¹,

Deacon²

2018

Canadian Geographies / Géographies canadiennes

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“…Along these lines, places outside the U.S. were investigated, for example, mining towns in Wales [63], mobile pastoralism in India [64], industrial lands in Portugal [65], brownfield sites in Europe [65][66][67][68], rural abandonment features in Spain [69], mining towns in Australia, Canada, Nigeria, Poland, Slovenia, and South Africa [70][71][72], fishing villages in Korea and Scotland [73,74], declining tourism in England and Australia [75,76], and regenerated landscapes [77].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Visual Typology of Abandonment in Rural America: From End-of-Life to Treading Water, Recycling, Renaissance, and Revival

Holcomb

Frederic

Brunn

2020

Land

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The contemporary American rural landscape reflects a mix of ongoing economic changes in agricultural land use, population change, and built environments. The mix depends on past and recent change which represent landscapes of memory and silence to those experiencing economic and demographic renaissance. We develop a typology of five stages that reflect the contemporary rural scene and conduct field transects in Northwest Iowa and Central Maine. Features of the dynamics in rural America are evident in photographs of residences, land use changes, and commercial structure. The study calls for additional studies on rural settlement populations, economies, and society in different environmental settings.

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“…Companies seek to optimise their returns from natural resource exploitation, resulting in-among other negative impactsweakened democratic institutions and operations, such as when local governments are unable to meet local needs. Marais et al (2018) have also noted that these impacts were exacerbated by resource companies using block rosters and long distance commuting arrangements, while the State Government absolved its responsibilities to remote resource towns in lieu of various agreements. In line with other First World nations, by 2000, Western Australia's regional development policy was 'not a radical departure from the underlying neo-liberal ideology of the state government' (Haslam McKenzie & Tonts, 2005, p.210; see also Van Staden & Haslam Mckenzie, 2019).…”

Section: Review Of Regional Policy and The Western Australian Resourcmentioning

confidence: 99%

Western Australia's Royalties for Regions program: a policy response to growth, regional neglect, and perceived disempowerment

Staden

McKenzie

2019

Geographical Research

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Under the right conditions, compounding socio‐political and economic change can dramatically alter government policy. From 2000, Western Australia, a resource‐rich jurisdiction, experienced significant change owing to a once‐in‐a‐generation resources boom, which forced a break with earlier development approaches. In 2008, regional interventionism returned to the State via the State Government's Royalties for Regions program. Departing from the neo‐liberal tradition, the program allocated 25 per cent of the State's royalty income to non‐metropolitan regions, over and above existing regional allocations, and its success remains disputed. While it is easy to question the program retrospectively, the socio‐economic and political circumstances from 2000 to 2008 reveal a “perfect storm” of conditions enabling the transition from neo‐liberalism to interventionism in regional development. This paper sets out to understand the multi‐faceted conditions that enabled the dramatic paradigm shift embodied by the program. To this end, it examines the State's rural–urban settlement dichotomy, its staples economy, and the policy context leading up to the program. Following that, the paper proposes a causal framework mapping out the factors driving and rationalising the program. These factors are then examined in detail and include perceived rural voter disenchantment, ineffectual regional development policy, the State's mining boom, inadequate regional development funding, the contrasting fortunes of two regions (illustrative of the impact of growth, and the lack thereof), and the political manoeuvring during the 2008 election. Finally, the paper concludes by considering how the conversion of these conditions resulted in the State's most significant regional policy redirection in decades.

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The changing nature of mining towns: Reflections from Australia, Canada and South Africa

Cited by 47 publications

References 14 publications

Supporting social sustainability in resource‐based communities through leisure and recreation

Supporting social sustainability in resource‐based communities through leisure and recreation

A Visual Typology of Abandonment in Rural America: From End-of-Life to Treading Water, Recycling, Renaissance, and Revival

Western Australia's Royalties for Regions program: a policy response to growth, regional neglect, and perceived disempowerment

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