scholarly journals Kading, T. (Ed.). (2018). No straight lines: Local leadership and the path from government to governance in small cities. Calgary, AB: University of Calgary Press.

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-84
Author(s):  
Jennifer Jilks
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Small City ◽  
Important Work ◽  
Small Cities ◽  
Local Leadership ◽  
University Of Calgary ◽  
Systemic Problems ◽  
Straight Lines

What does it mean to live in a small city? Metropolises tend to get a lot of attention, but many Canadians spend their lives in significantly smaller urban centres. Social issues in smaller cities are fueled by the same systemic problems faced in larger centres, and there’s some important work being done to address these problems. In this edition, we examine how action research explores issues around critiquing and reconceiving community in small cities.

On the news today: challenging homelessness through participatory action research

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-25
Author(s):  
Bruno De Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Social Issue ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Homeless People ◽  
Media Representations ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Media

Purpose How can people with lived experience of homelessness actively participate in contesting their marginalisation? The purpose of this paper is to suggest that involving people who are homeless in participatory action research (PAR) is one such strategy. This paper shows that such an approach can have a significant impact on empowering people with direct of experience of homelessness to challenge prevailing social discourses, particularly in terms of the way in which the local media presents homelessness as a social issue. Design/methodology/approach A PAR approach informed the design, development and dissemination of the study on which this paper is based. Analytically, it is underpinned by Foucauldian discourse analysis (FDA). FDA, with its focus on power relations in society, is noted to be particularly useful for analysing local media representations of homeless people. Findings The research reported here found that academic practitioners and homeless people can work together to challenge media discourses, which serve to marginalise people affected by homelessness. Research limitations/implications The research reported here served to challenge some of the ways in homeless people are victimized and stigmatized. Practical implications The research reported here has the potential to inform future research concerned with understanding media presentations of homeless people. It can be seen as a model for how people affected by a particularly pernicious social issue can contribute to research in ways that go beyond researching for the sake of research. Originality/value The research reported here provides evidence of the emancipatory value of research that seeks to bring academic practitioners and homeless people together in a partnership to challenge vital social issues such as the power of the local media to frame understandings of homelessness.

From Apple to Orange: Narratives of Small City Migration and Settlement among the Urban Middle Class

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 402-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard E. Ocejo
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
New York City ◽  
Middle Class ◽  
Urban Environment ◽  
York City ◽  
Small City ◽  
Small Cities ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
The City

As large cities become unaffordable, some people in the urban middle class are moving to small cities but risk replicating gentrification and its harms. Based on a qualitative research project on Newburgh, a small city north of New York City, this paper examines the narratives that middle-class urbanites construct to make sense of this migration, their new urban environment, and their place within it. These narratives describe their decision to move (migration) and their everyday lives in the city (settlement). Most importantly, their narratives are shaped by their social positions as both displaced residents and gentrifiers and as both consumers and producers of space. But despite being self-aware gentrifiers, their settlement narratives lack reflections on their own displacement from New York City, and instead emphasize how they try to mitigate gentrification’s harms. The paper concludes with a discussion of what makes gentrifiers in small cities distinct from those in large ones.

scholarly journals Physical-geographical conditions of the creating and developing of the small cities of Lviv region

2015 ◽  
pp. 95-102
Author(s):  
Yuriy Zhuk
Keyword(s):  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Small City ◽  
Small Cities ◽  
The Past ◽  
Natural Factors ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Surrounding Areas ◽  
The Impact

Small cities serve important functions in the territorial and economic system of the country. They are essential elements of the settlement network, which involved in industrial production, agricultural service of the surrounding areas, perform the transport functions. They are cultural, recreational and scientific centres. Significant impact on the functioning of small cities is connected with natural factors – the relief, climate, forests, land and mineral resources. Combined with the historical development, they played a crucial role in the formation of settlement network. Influence of terrain, including its plainness, the proximity of groundwater affects the location of settlements in high, watershed areas, the size of settlements, settlement features. The impact of physical-geographical conditions of Lviv region on creation and development of small cities are described in the article. The classification of small cities of Lviv region by the physicalgeographical regions was done. The physical-geographical regions of Lviv region and their suitability for the creating of the cities in the past are analysed. Keywords: a small city, physical-geographical conditions, the natural potential of the area.

Walmsley, C., & Kading, T. (Eds.). (2018). Small cities, big issues: Reconceiving community in a neoliberal era. Edmonton, Canada: Athabasca University.

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 80-82
Author(s):  
Shelina Adatia
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Illicit Drug Use ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Small Cities ◽  
Community Groups ◽  
Sex Trade ◽  
Social Responsibilities

As the title suggests, the book Small cities, big issues: Reconceiving community in a neoliberal era takes a critical look at the complex social issues facing small Canadian cities – namely, Kamloops, Kelowna, Nanaimo and Prince George. Part one presents a reflection of displacement, isolation and Othering, echoing a dominant discourse of diversity as deficiency through communal responses to a variety of issues – specifically, homelessness, the street sex trade, illicit drug use, queerness, deinstitutionalization, the reintegration of parolees and finally, decolonization. While at first glance these issues may appear to be drastically different, they are in fact intimately connected by both the responses they elicit and the actions they can inspire. Individually and collectively, part one is a call to all Canadians – those who are typically silenced and those who are members of institutions, community groups and all levels of government – to collaboratively reframe our notion of community. In doing so, we commit to ensuring that each one of us, regardless of our differences, feels valued and included – a True North reflection of diversity as strength. Part two focuses on how we can build such inclusive communities by encouraging us to reflect on our social policies and our social responsibilities – thus calling into question the myth of Canada as fair and just. In essence, it is no longer enough to simply talk the talk of social inclusion, we must also walk the walk.

scholarly journals In Praise of Small Cities: Cultural Life in Kamloops, BC

2006 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lon Dubinsky
Keyword(s):  
Small City ◽  
Capital Social ◽  
Cultural Participation ◽  
Small Cities ◽  
Cultural Expression ◽  
Social And Cultural Capital ◽  
Cultural Life ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Choral Societies

Abstract: This article demonstrates how cultural participation contributes to collective understanding in a small city, using Kamloops, British Columbia, as a case study. It examines how pools of social and cultural capital give purpose and shape to the arts and heritage community and considers two related variables: the geographical and social proximity of people, organizations, and neighbourhoods, and the recognition that various kinds of collaboration may determine or constitute collective activity. The article addresses these factors by initially identifying several arts and heritage activities and by focusing on choral societies to further demonstrate how individual interests and collective understanding converge in specific forms of cultural expression. The article concludes by recommending several directions for comparative urban research based on the contours of cultural life in a small city. This article features online (http://www.cjc-online.ca) photographs of cultural works. Résumé : Cette étude souligne de quelle façon la participation culturelle contribue à la compréhension collective dans la petite ville de Kamloops en Colombie Britannique, utilisée içi comme sujet de recherche. On y voit comment certains réservoirs de capital social et culturel donnent un sens et un contexte à la communauté des arts et du patrimoine et on y présente deux variantes connexes : la proximité géographique et sociale des personnes, des organisations et des quartiers, et le fait que différents types de collaboration peuvent définir ou constituer une activité collective. Cet article considère ces prémisses, d’abord en identifiant plusieurs activités dans le secteur des arts et du patrimoine et ensuite en portant son attention plus particulièrement aux sociétés de chorales afin de démontrer de quelle façon les intérêts personnels et la compréhension collective se rejoignent dans certaines formes d’expression culturelle. La conclusion propose plusieurs voies de recherche urbaine comparative, basées sur la configuration de la vie culturelle d’une petite ville. Cet article inclut des photos d’œuvres d’art disponibles sur le site web de la revue : http://www.cjc-online.ca.

scholarly journals Small–City Dualism in the Metro Hinterland: The Racialized “Brooklynization” of New York's Hudson Valley

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonard Nevarez ◽  
Joshua Simons
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
York City ◽  
Population Change ◽  
Small City ◽  
Small Cities ◽  
Hudson Valley ◽  
Amenity Development ◽  
Dual Trajectories

How does the metropolis influence population change and amenity development in small cities of the adjacent hinterland? We examine one scenario in five cities of New York state's Hudson Valley, a region north of metropolitan New York City that reveals dual trajectories of urban change. In some cities, immigrant revitalization brings population growth, revitalizes main street economies, and extends cities’ majority–minority legacies. In other cities, amenity development attracts metropolitan newcomers, triggers residential and retail gentrification, sustains majority–white demographics, and fails to offset out–migration associated with rustbelt decline. These dual trajectories are connected through a metropolitan process of “Brooklynization”: sociospatial changes in hinterland regions set in motion by racialized amenity pursuits. Culturally, metropolitan outsiders encounter small cities through ‘rural’ frameworks that emphasize outdoor/agricultural amenities, small–town ‘authenticity,’ and the implicit whiteness of the hinterland landscape. Economically, immigrant revitalization and amenity development are connected via linked migration that channels an immigrant proletariat to some cities and the amenity migrants they labor for to other cities and towns.

Exploring social innovation through co-creation in rural India using action research

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Souresh Cornet ◽  
Saswat Barpanda
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
Rural India ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Action Research Approach

Purpose Social innovation (SI) has been promoted by policymakers for addressing all kinds of social issues in the context of diminishing government resources. It is, however, difficult to assess the efficiency of SI-based public policies, as the process of SI itself remains largely nebulous. The purpose of this paper is to better understand this process with a focus on its early stage, until the point of identifying a socially innovative idea and in the context of disadvantaged rural communities in India. Design/methodology/approach Co-creation workshops were facilitated to generate socially innovative solutions in villages, using co-design technique. Following an action research approach, qualitative data was collected to produce case studies. Findings This study found that SI was appropriate for addressing development challenges in rural India. Facilitated co-creation was successful in involving all citizens and effective in generating SI. The authors developed a framework of generating SI through co-creation that gives a more precise understanding of the SI process. Practical implications The authors propose a method for co-creating SI that can be of significant use for practitioners. Findings can help design better and more socially impactful public policies. Originality/value This paper focusses on understanding the process of generating SI, using a participatory approach. It is the first work that has been conducted of this sort in the context of Indian rural villages.

City Size and Ethnic Discrimination: Michigan Agricultural Implements and Iron Working Industries, 1890

1982 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 825-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan Underhill Hannon
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Discrimination ◽  
City Size ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
Small City ◽  
Barriers To Entry ◽  
Labor Management ◽  
Small Cities ◽  
Apparent Paradox ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Iron Working

Late nineteenth-century immigrants tended to concentrate in large cities despite the fact that they experienced less occupational mobility there than they did in small cities. This paper suggests that variation across cities in labor management systems and in the associated froms of discrimination may help to explain this apparent paradox. Analysis of data from Michigan's agricultural implements and iron-working industries in 1890 indicates that discrimination in hiring made it more difficult for immigrants to break into the small-city labor force. But in large cities, immigrant mobility was restricted by discriminatory barriers to entry into higher level jobs.

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