Research Report

Small communities
seeking big changes
Resilience, adaptability, and self-determination
in boom and bust communities
Western Canada is known as one of the world’s largest
producers of energy and agricultural goods. Boasting
rich natural resources—including coal, oil, wheat,
aluminum, fish, and lumber—the provinces of Alberta
and British Columbia have a long history of attracting
shrewd investors and prospectors, seeking to make
their fortune in remote and rural communities. Many of
these communities rely on a single or limited resource,
making them vulnerable to periods of extreme growth
and decline as resource availability, global markets,
and other factors shift over time. Although larger cities,
such as Edmonton and Calgary, are not immune to
the ups and downs of a resource economy, smaller
communities tend to be more vulnerable to the
excitement of “boom” periods and the decline of “bust”
periods, with fewer options available for recovery.
The extreme nature of boom and bust cycles has
become an area of fascination for Kristof Van Assche
and Monica Gruezmacher, researchers for Extension’s
City-Region Studies Centre (CRSC). Alongside a team
from CRSC and several University of Alberta faculties,
Van Assche and Gruezmacher have spent the past
two years embarking on a series of road trips to small
boom and bust communities across Western Canada.
Their goal has been to learn more about how these
places can survive, and even thrive, in the face of
such adverse and unpredictable conditions, and what
other communities and academics can learn from
their past experiences.
According to this dynamic team, much of the existing
research on boom and bust dynamics and sustainable
planning tends to be prescriptive or only focused on
part of the problem. In a world where expertise has
become increasingly specialized and quick and easy
answers are highly valued, many “bust” towns that seek
external help are provided with formulaic processes and
tools that don’t necessarily translate to their unique set of
experiences and contexts. Says Van Assche, “We have
found such an amazing diversity of experiences, beliefs,
stories, and creative governance structures. Each place
we have studied has created its own story. No one
‘recipe’ for overcoming a bust could possibly succeed
in all of them.” For example, a sustainability strategy
that works in a coal mining town facing reduced demand
would not work in an old forestry town struck by forest
fires. Nor would the residents of those towns necessarily
even agree on what success means. “Success” is a
subjective concept, largely shaped by the stories that
communities tell about themselves. Residents in that mining
town may equate success with increased mining activity,
and find it difficult turn to tourism or eco-farming as
their main economic activity.
Self-analysis and other tools
of the trade
Van Assche and Gruezmacher understand that
communities have a right to set their own path, and that
decisions about a community’s future should be based
on serious self-analysis and a critical look at their past
and the current context. Outsiders and experts, including
academics, can help in this process by offering insights
and structure for self-analysis. Self-analysis is far from
simple, and can often be painful or exacerbate internal
conflict. However, when properly managed, this process
is an invaluable tool for helping the community overcome
challenges and move forward.
The researchers have developed tools and resources to
guide communities through this challenging process of self-
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