(Re)Defining poverty in resource dependent rural and small town places
2011
Poverty remains an important, but challenging research, policy, and lived world issue. It is found in all communities – in all regions. In Canada, most poverty research has been urban focused and our knowledge about the dynamics, experiences, and complex underpinnings of rural poverty is more limited. Since the early 1980s, Canadian rural and small town places have experienced accelerated change due to economic and social restructuring. These have generated new pressures and trends that affect those living on low-income and households at risk of living in poverty. These impacts are especially important in resource-based economies and those places located at a distance from major urban centres.
Based on a pilot study in the McBride and surrounding region, this project explores how key factors, attributes of place, and institutional processes affect rural household journeys into and out of poverty. This includes exploring interactions between low-income households and service support networks to develop a greater understanding of emerging issues for households in resource-dependent towns undergoing intense economic and service restructuring.