Understanding the Role of Lived Experience in Community Leaders' Vision and Governance of ...

191 Pages·2016·1.82 MB·English

Understanding the Role of Lived Experience in Community Leaders’ Vision and
Governance of Economic Development and Sustainability in Rurally Situated
Small Cities: An Exploratory Case Study of Peterborough, Ontario

A Thesis Submitted to the Committee on Graduate Studies
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts
in the Faculty of Arts and Science

TRENT UNIVERSITY
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
(c) Copyright by Elizabeth Teleki 2016
Sustainability Studies M.A. Graduate Program
September 2016
ABSTRACT
Understanding the Role of Lived Experience in Community Leaders’ Vision and
Governance of Economic Development and Sustainability in Rurally Situated
Small Cities: An Exploratory Case Study of Peterborough, Ontario

Elizabeth Teleki
Sustainable development is normative - making decisions in the present that
construct the experience of place for the future. It is primarily driven by global
measures developed to meet the needs of the present while ensuring future
generations can meet their own needs. These measures attempt to balance economic
prosperity, social justice, and environmental stewardship in many nations. This
attempt to balance a plurality of outcomes creates socio-political tensions in
choosing between alternatives. These barriers and tensions are characterized
through the neoclassical vision of: economics as a science, utility maximization, and
alienation of people. This thesis explores the lived experience of community leaders
in Peterborough, Ontario as they navigate a contentious and current debate of where
to relocate a casino in the region. The results focus on the tension experienced by
community leaders as they seek to balance elements of care, while preserving
neoclassical values of growth, individualism, freedom of choice, and
interconnectedness. The thesis concludes with a model that works towards an
understanding of the role of lived experience in economic development decision-
making in rurally situated small cities, and recommendations for further research
and policy recommendations.
Keywords: economic development, sustainability, community development, vision,
governance, lived experience, rurally situated small city, social actors, socio-political
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Mark Skinner for his organized
insights into my approach on this dissertation. It is a rarity to find a professor like
Dr. Skinner who is committed to applying multiple lenses across academic traditions
in such a clear, practical, and effective way. I would also like to thank committee
member Dr. Tom Phillips who brought a wealth of expertise from the New School for
Social Research’s economic tradition and guided me towards the discussion of
sustainability as basic reproducibility. Finally, Dr. David Holdsworth has continued
to challenge me in my application of continental philosophy to problematic
discourse and world issues, originally inspired by Dr. Boulou Ebanda de B’béri at the
University of Ottawa.
I would like to thank our program chair Dr. Asaf Zohar for giving us a point of
departure for discussing Sustainability Studies through a transdisciplinary lens and
organizational studies. I would also like to acknowledge the many inspiring
discussions held with my peers on these topics including my husband Paul Teleki
who brought to my attention the work of Alan Gewirth (1996) and its impact on
accountability and ethics.
Finally, this thesis would not be possible if it were not for the trust and
positive discussions I was so privileged to have with the interview participants who
were inspiring in their leadership and efforts to build a great community.
It is with sincere gratitude that I thank the following funders of this research:
 Tri-Council Joseph Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship
 Trent University
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DEDICATION

This thesis is dedicated to my father Steven Kowacz who demonstrated the power of
approaching life with grace, love, persistence, hard work, and recognizing our
strengths and those of others to achieve a more inclusive and better future.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………ii
Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………..……………iii
Dedication…………………………………………………………………………..………………………….iv
Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………………………….v
List of Tables and Figures………………………………………………………………………………..x
List of Abbreviations………………………………………………………………………………………xi

Chapter One - Introduction…………………………………..…………………………….……………1
Background……………………………………………………………………………………………….1
The Research Problem………………………………....………………………………….2
Research Goal, Objectives and Research Questions….……………..…………3
Approach and Methods Towards the Research Goal………………………….4
The Wicked Problem of Sustainability………………..……………………………….………6
The Research Opportunity………………………………..……………………………….……..15
The Research Framework…………………….…………….……………………………….……18
Chapter Two - Conceptualizing Vision for Economic Development……….….……20
Our Common Vision: Capitalism in Neoclassical Economic Development…...21
Neoclassical Economics………….…………...…………………………………….…..22
Governing Vision for Economic Development, and Sustainability……………….26
Governing a Vision of Economic Development Towards
Sustainability……………………………………………………………………..29
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Chapter Three - Conceptualizing Economic Development for Rurally situated
Small Cities……………………………………………………………………………………………………33
Making Cents: Defining Place and Negotiating a Common Vision……………….34
Negotiating a Local Common Vision……….………………………………………36
Theory and Practice in Local Economic Development……………………………… ..37
Traditional Practices of Economic Development…………………………….39
Transforming the Traditional Practice of Economic D evelopment
for the Creative Economy………………………………………...…………..………..41
The Creative Class………………………………………………………………43
The Geography of the Creative Class and the 3T’s………………...44
Economic Development Practices in the Creative Economy….46
Integrating Sustainability into Economic Development Practice…...…47
Landscape of Emerging Economic Development Strategies and Tactics..…....50
Chapter Four - Positive Processes: Research Design and Method………………….59
Approaching with Care…………………………………………………………………………….60
Strategies, Tactics, and Trajectories…………………………………………..……………...63
Methodological Framework…………………………………………………………….………..66
Characteristics of the Case Study Region: A Rurally Situated Small City...……70
Data Collection and Ethics Review………………………………………..............................75
Lived Experience Interviews……………………………………………………….....75
Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………………...78
Chapter Five – Case Study Results from Peterborough, Ontario …...…….……..….81
Context of Development…………………………………………………………………………...83
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Place Identity in Local Economic Development………………….…………...84
Perspectives on the Casino Development…..…………...……………………....84
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats………………………..86
Framing Visions of Development in Rurally Situated Small Cities…………........88
Vision 1: Generational View…………………………………………………………...88
Older People and Retirees…………………………………………………..89
Younger People and Young Families…………………………………....91
Vision 2: Focus on Fairness in Resource Allocation……….……….……….93
An Even Playing Field………………………………………………………...94
Duty and Care…………………………………………………………..……..…96
Outcomes of Development…………………………………………………98
Vision 3: Individualism, Freedom of Choice, and
Interconnectedness…………………………………………………………..100
Vision 4: Value in the Pursuit of Growth……………………………………….102
Local Impact………………………………………………………………….....102
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Sales Revenue Growth…106
Job Growth……………………………………………………………………….107
Community Leaders’ Visions of Development…….……………………………………109
Interpreting the Lived Experience of Economic Development………………….109
Rooting Identity in Place……………………………………………………………...110
Vision 1: Generational Focus……………………………………………..110
Vision 2: Fairness in Resource Allocation……………….………….112

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Vision 3: Individualism, Freedom of choice, and
Interconnectedness…………………..........................................113
Vision 4: Value in the Pursuit of Growth………………………….....116
Setting the Scene for Action…………………………………………………………118
Vision 1: Generational Focus……………………………………………..119
Vision 2: Fairness in Resource Allocation…………………………..120
Vision 3: Individualism, Freedom of Choice, and
Interconnectedness………………………………………………..132
Vision 4: Value in the Pursuit of Growth……..……………..……….127
Balance as Outcome…………………………..………………………………………...129
Vision 1: Generational Focus………..……………………………………129
Vision 2: Fairness in Resource Allocation………..…………………130
Vision 3: Individualism, Freedom of Choice, and
Interconnectedness…………………………………….………….133
Vision 4: Value in the Pursuit of Growth……….……………………134
Chapter Six – Conclusion: On the Wicked Problem of Sustainability……......….136
Summary…………………………………………………………………...……………..…………...136
Discussion……………………………………………………………………………………………..138
A Fair Playing Field………………………………...………………………………...…138
Balance as the Outcome……………………………………………………………….140
The Role of Lived Experience in Reproducing Vision and Governance
of Economic Development and Sustainability……..................141

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Reproducing Socio-Political Relations of Production Through
Vision and Governance of Economic Development and
Sustainability……..…………………………………………………….……....146
Further Research …………………………………………………………………………………..149
Policy Recommendations……………………………………………………………………….150
Concluding Comments……………………………………………………………………………153
References…………………………………………………………………………………………………..155
Appendices………………………………………………………………………………………………....166
Appendix A - Overview of Strategic Plans in Rurally Situated
Small Cities in Ontario……………………………………………………………………………166
Appendix B - Ethics Approval Letters……………………………..……………………….171
Appendix C - Participant Letter of Information………………………………………..173
Appendix D - Participant Consent Form…………………………………………………..175
Appendix E - Semi-Structured Interview Guide…………………………………….....177

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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Tables:

Table 3.1 Emerging Economic Practices and Theories in the Global North…….....52
Table 4.1 Methodological Framework…………………………………………………………….67

Figures:
Figure 2.1 Continuum of Vision and Governance for Economic
Development and Sustainability……………………………………………………………….28
Figure 3.1 Mapping Emerging Practices on the Continuum of Vision and
Governance for Economic Development and Sustainability………………………..57
Figure 4.1 Map of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada…………………………………………...73
Figure 6.1: Exploratory Model of the Role of Lived Experience in Reproducing
Vision and Governance of Economic Development and Sustainability.…......144

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