Investing in Place

Economic Renewal in Northern British Columbia

By Sean Markey, Greg Halseth, and Don Manson

UBC Press

Northern British Columbia is a place of rich cultures, diverse communities, and a strong sense of identity. The future of this vast, resource-rich region and the people who call it home could be either driven by a narrow economic agenda or guided by innovative, place-based solutions that seek to build viable communities and resilient local and regional economies.

Investing in Place is about creating the foundations for renewing northern British Columbia’s rural and small-town economies. Markey, Halseth, and Manson argue that renewal is not about nostalgic reliance on the policies and economic strategies of the past – rather, it is about building a pragmatic and innovative vision for development, one that acknowledges both the opportunities and the challenges posed by resource development and global and technological change.

For policy-makers and residents alike the path to renewal lies in place-based development, which consists of people working together at all levels of the community and region to take advantage of local opportunities in a sustainable, responsible way.

This book will interest not only students, scholars, and policy-makers in the fields of community and economic development, rural studies, regional planning, and geography, but also anyone interested in BC studies or the future of rural communities.

RELATED TOPICS: BC Studies, Environmental Studies, Geography, Political Economy, Regional Studies, Resource Management & Policy, Resource Studies

Investing in Place is a first-class piece of work that should become one of the ‘must’ books on the subject. Well situated in the broader literature, illustrated with different case studies, and written in a clear and accessible style, it is based on penetrating research that is easily accessible to professionals in the regional development field as well as local and regional players and interested citizens. Christopher R. Bryant, Département de géographie, Université de Montréal

Sean Markey is an associate professor in the School of Resource and Environmental Management and the Centre for Sustainable Community Development at Simon Fraser University. Greg Halseth is a professor of geography, director of the Community Development Institute, and Canada Research Chair in Rural and Small Town Studies at the University of Northern British Columbia. Don Manson is an adjunct professor of geography and coordinator of the Community Development Institute at UNBC.

Part 1: Introduction

1 Introduction: Foundations for Renewal

2 Northern British Columbia: General Processes

3 The Whole Community Approach

Part 2: Creating a Space-Based Economy

4 Province Building

5 Restructuring and Response

6 Struggles in Transition

Part 3: Moving to a Place-based Economy

7 An Economy of Place

8 Mobilizing for Change

9 Directions