Sustainable Cities and Communities Archives - Page 2 of 2

The link between culture and the development of healthy, resilient communities is gathering strength in Northern Ontario. This research brought forward a new framework for approaching economic development that places a healthy culture, one that provides a supportive environment for people and their expressions of creativity, at the forefront of a vibrant and economically sound community. By assessing the socio-economic impact of the arts on the economy of Sault Ste. Marie, this study identified local strengths that can bolster the economy. These include community ownership and commitment, increasing economic activities and efficiencies around industry clusters and building on the existing arts economy. The findings point to the potential for increased economic activity where a greater understanding and strategic development planning process is generated. This would give the city a competitive advantage in attracting new business, retaining skilled labour and investment and providing wide-spread community benefits.

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Community Supported Agriculture is an alternative, and locally-rooted model of agriculture and food distribution that develops a network of individuals who have pledged to support one or more farms, with growers and consumers sharing the risks and benefits of farming good food.

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In response to earlier economic decline, this community-based initiative assessed Sault Ste. Marie’s resilience across sectors and explored community planning strategies to increase the city’s desirability and sustainability by becoming more economically viable, socially equitable, environmentally responsible and culturally viable. Community Resilience has since become a movement, seeing Sault Ste. Marie becoming the first community in Canada with a population larger than 10,000 to implement a Community Resilience project, and more recently adopting a community resilience framework in the 2016 Community Adjustment Committee process.

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Jude Ortiz, Dr. Linda Savory-Gordon

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2003 – 20011

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Community Resilience Sault Ste. Marie Final Report Download

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This research demonstrated the benefits of the cooperative model for expanding locally sourced beef markets in Northern Ontario and support regional agricultural economies experiencing crises sparked by globalization through strengthening stakeholders. By examining existing Northern Ontario cooperatives and place-based businesses that support a value chain for local beef, researchers explored the impacts of scale, regulations, markets and infrastructure to the successes of these operations.

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ASOPRICOR is the Association for the Holistic Development of Rural and Urban Communities, a community organization that represents many rural organizations, co-operatives and communities in rural Cundinimarca, Colombia. This project studied the sustainable development initiatives in rural Columbia, including agriculture, social enterprise and women’s organizations. Researchers from Algoma University collaborated with the Columbian association ASOPRICOR to exchange knowledge and experiences of rural communities, cooperatives and organizations between North and South. The research stemmed from a knowledge exchange between ASOPRICOR and the CESD program at then Algoma University College, The goal of which was to share information and knowledge with the hope that it will be a source of inspiration, reflection and questions about the daily work of community development in both the global South and North.