Powerless in a Western US Energy Town: Exploring Challenges to Socially Sustainable Rural Development
| Autor: | Kayci A. Muirbrook, Jared M. Poff, David R. Wilson, Carol Ward, Michael R. Cope |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Economic growth
Geography Planning and Development Social sustainability Sense of community 0211 other engineering and technologies TJ807-830 Context (language use) 02 engineering and technology Management Monitoring Policy and Law TD194-195 social sustainability Renewable energy sources Political science 050602 political science & public administration GE1-350 Closure (psychology) Environmental effects of industries and plants Renewable Energy Sustainability and the Environment 05 social sciences Social change social change 021107 urban & regional planning Focus group 0506 political science Environmental sciences Bust Sustainability community |
| Zdroj: | Sustainability, Vol 12, Iss 8426, p 8426 (2020) Sustainability Volume 12 Issue 20 |
| ISSN: | 2071-1050 |
| Popis: | To better understand social sustainability in the context of rapid boom growth and decline, we examine longitudinal social change in the modern boomtown of Colstrip, MT. Using a mixed-methods approach that includes two waves of a community survey&mdash administered in 1996 and 2018, respectively&mdash and focus groups conducted in 2018&ndash 2019, we explore shifts in residents&rsquo sense of community as well as their perceptions and attitudes about current challenges to their community&rsquo s future and sustainability. We show that, despite surviving previous boom and bust periods related to changes in the coal industry, this community now faces a new reality that involves the closure of all local power plants. However, both survey responses and residents&rsquo narratives indicate a strong sense of community and support for developing strategies that address challenges to the town&rsquo s future. This exploratory case study helps to extend the literature by contributing to a greater understanding of the experiences of contemporary workers who individually migrated to a small, rural energy town but who now, as a community, face an uncertain future, and by illuminating the role of sense of community in both social and environmental sustainability efforts. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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