ABSTRACT
In previous chapters, we explored the impacts of accelerating globalization on northern British Columbia’s (BC) forest industry (Chapter 3) and the follow-through impacts of these changes on the local labor force (Chapter 7). In this chapter, we complete the review by looking at how small forest-dependent communities have responded to the sweep of changes occurring in their key local economic sector. These changes include the collision of political and economic restructuring that has led to the transformation and reorientation of local government operations from ‘managerialism’ to ‘entrepreneurialism.’ In concert with this shift has been the adoption of various aspects of community economic development, as communities seek new local opportunities and alternatives to replace lost or declining economic activities. Through this chapter we will: (1) interrogate rural renewal for the supports and mechanisms important in these processes, and (2) consider the relative roles of a variety of influencing factors, including local capacity, collaboration, leadership, social capital, public policy, geographic variables of location and access, and local innovation.
