Boom & Bust – Local strategy for big events

This publication is the result of a collective effort at the University of Alberta to better understand the dramatic ups and downs which too often characterize western Canadian communities. It offers community leaders, politicians, administrators, academics, students, and all active citizens helpful techniques to analyze the current state of their own community, understand how it got where it is today, and ultimately, identify possible ways forward. We encourage analysis of historical paths and policy contexts to better understand what strategies might work (or not) in a community.

Authors

Kristof Van Assche, Leith Deacon, Monica Gruezmacher, Robert J. Summers, Stéphane Lavoie, Kevin Edson Jones, Michael Granzow, Lars Hallstrom and John Parkins.

Reviews

Our need to understand and adjust to the highs and lows of economic cycles has only been magnified during the time leading up to the publication of this book. Citizens, including leaders in Alberta and northern British Columbia, should welcome this contribution to the literature.

Ted Binnema, Historian, University of Northern British Columbia

A very approachable read on one of Western Canada's most important ongoing issues: the boom/bust community. The book is to be commended for drawing on some of the latest thinking on community resilience and governance, as it provides highly relevant advise for conducting effective community lead action to address the issue.

Michael Gunder, Associate Professor, School of Architecture and Planning, University of Auckland

Boom & Bust: A Guide is a must have for anyone interested in building stronger, more resilient and adaptable communities. The book provides a helpful and accessible framework for understanding how fundamental the stories a community tells about itself are to shaping its future. The lessons here are transferable to any size of community anywhere in the world.

Bill Given, Mayor City of Grande Prairie, Alberta