Second Growth: Community Economic Development in Rural British Columbia

Joan Lovisek, Ph.D., is a consulting anthropologist and ethnohistorian
in British Columbia.

Second Growth is the result of the first major research project by
members of the Centre for Sustainable Community Development at Simon
Fraser University. The book’s four authors have written what will
undoubtedly become a textbook for students of community-based economic
planning and development. The purpose of their research was to
consolidate the theoretical and practical findings about the various
problems in rural communities that are dependent on one resource,
principally forestry.

In what they call CED (Community Economic Development), the authors
have developed a method and theoretical foundation intended to
contribute to the prosperity and sustainability of rural areas. It is
their view that theoretical rigour will improve practice. Drawing on the
themes of dependency, transition, and resilience, they make the case
that communities can better adapt to changes driven by economic and
political globalization through specific strategies aimed at
strengthening local economies. The communities of Salmon Arm, Lillooet,
south Cariboo, and Bella Coola provide case studies; each has a strong
Aboriginal population whose participation in the community’ economy is
marginal.

Although Second Growth is academically grounded and extensively
researched, the presentation of the case studies is not used effectively
to demonstrate the benefits and failures of the various strategies that
it promotes. The multiple strategies and planning tools provided in the
book are not presented in a ready form for the practitioner. A separate
workbook for the applied portion of the book would have been useful.

The extent to which CED provides a new way to conceptualize and plan
for economic development in rural communities remains to be determined.
As well, there are innate difficulties inmeasuring CED, which at best
can provide only a checklist of ideal conditions.