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Building for the Future: Foundations for Sustainable Prosperity

This book explores the challenges and opportunities faced by small towns and communities in the face of globalization, and provides strategies for building resilient communities based on local assets, actions, and aspirations. It emphasizes the importance of community readiness and long-term vision in achieving sustainable development.

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Building for the Future: Foundations for Sustainable Prosperity

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  1. Building for the Future: Foundations for Sustainable Prosperity Greg Halseth & Don Manson Community Development Institute at UNBC

  2. Outline Introduction Community Development

  3. 1) Introduction

  4. Historically • Natural resources maintained local economies • Required many labourers • Communities were ‘centres’ to local hinterlands • Provincial government invested in these communities • Services • Facilities • Amenities • Disrupted after 1980

  5. A New Game Now • Pressures since: • International trade agreements • Trade globalization • Low cost production regions • Resource industries are concentrating • Technology is labour-shedding • Job losses • Limited wage benefits remain

  6. At Issue: • Challenge • Small town and community change • Fast pace of globalization • Opportunity • Building resilient communities based on local assets, actions & aspirations

  7. Question • How to equip communities to exercise place-based advantages & meet development opportunities & challenges on own terms?

  8. 2) Community Development

  9. Answer: Focus on Community Readiness Understanding the role / position of your region in the world Grounding strategies in a realistic, in-depth analysis of our local & regionalassets and aspirations Focus more on long-term implementation of vision

  10. Community Development Foundations • The ability of communities to identify aspirations & organize assets and resources to achieve their objectives • Increasing the skills, knowledge & abilities to access/use information & resources • Create strategies & partnerships to take advantage of changing circumstances • A long-term, sustainable vision that facilitates community well-being, quality-of-life & resilience

  11. Keys to Innovation Create a broad community development platform as a foundation for seizing opportunities

  12. Community Assets: Land & People

  13. Place-Based Development • A place-based economy demands much more of local capacity • Accommodates new relationships, partnerships, collaboration & wider inclusion • Competitive variables: • Traditional: Infrastructure, production, location, economic structure & amenities • Newer: Social capital, innovation & institutions

  14. CD & Economic Development • Rebundle community assets • Reimagine community aspirations • Reinvestments in local social, economic & cultural infrastructure • From resource dependence to a diversified economy grounded in resources & inclusive of other options

  15. In Practice: Interdependent & Mutually Supportive The Community Development Institute at UNBC www.unbc.ca/cdi

  16. Lessons I • A “new base for successful rural innovation” • Work as regions • Scale up/strategic partnerships • Focus on readiness • Key infrastructures • Physical • Human • Community • Economic

  17. Lessons II • Re-bundle our competitive assets in innovative ways • Attention to 4 "bottom lines" • Community • Economy • Environment • Culture

  18. www.unbc.ca/cdi

  19. Greg Halseth Professor, Geography University of Northern British Columbia http://www.unbc.ca/geography/faculty/halseth/index.html Canada Research Chair in Rural and Small Town Studies Community Development Institute – UNBC http://www.unbc.ca/cdi/

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