Rural-Urban Interaction in Rural-Urban Interaction in Newfoundland and Newfoundland and
Labrador: Understanding Labrador: Understanding and Managing Functional and Managing Functional
RegionsRegions
Newville, August 15, 2007Newville, August 15, 2007
CCRC Mandate
To be a catalyst for developing viable and sustainable communities in Newfoundland and Labrador, actively supporting regional cooperation
through the provision of:
– information,
– research and analysis,
– training/education,
– facilitation and advisory services
Photo by Gerald Peddle
Research
• Census of Newfoundland and Labrador Municipalities and survey of elected officials (June 2007)
• Articles and profiles on regional cooperation initiatives in Newfoundland and Labrador
• Research on new approaches CRRF - Rural-Urban Interaction in Newfoundland and Labrador: Understanding and Managing Functional Regions
Rural-Urban Interaction in NL: Understanding and Managing
Functional Regions• Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation (CRRF)• NLFM/CCRC• Memorial University – Harris Centre and
Department of Geography• University of Kentucky – Rural Studies • Provincial and federal agencies • Participating communities and regions
Funding: C/NL Labour Market Development Agreement
Project components1) Identify and map (GIS) linkages between
communities in “regions”, particularly urban and rural relationships
2) Assess governance mechanisms used to manage these relationships, identify gaps, investigate alternatives
3) Assess the contribution of community linkages to local and regional sustainability and create a “labour market attractiveness index”
4) Collaboration, communication, applicationPilot Areas are critical in all 4, but more on that later…
Project components• MNL CCRC will provide outreach,
communication of research & use it to inform activities to improve regional cooperation
• Harris Centre will assist in finding graduate students to carry out research projects
• CRRF will broker same project in other provinces; interest so far in Maritimes, Quebec and Alberta
What Are Functional Regions?• Analysis of interactions represents a
functional approach to regional planning• Functional regions and interactions
amongst communities ignore administrative boundaries
• A functional region is a complex structure of communities and linkages…
• where there may exist a dominant community (centre) through which a majority of interactions flow.
Methods of determining functional regions
1. Functional distance: how far are you willing to travel? For work? For products and services of various kinds? (e.g. milk vs. furniture vs. medical)
2. Concentrations of flows: labour flows (e.g. labour flow maps), patterns of trade/shopping travel, business transactions, volume of mail or flyer mailing areas, agricultural production, student migration, banking and financial flows, traffic/transportation, recreation, commodity flows
Other: population levels, employment levels, crime rates, census areas, political districts, language
Work Flows example
Important, but not the whole
picture
Pilot Areas
• Irish Loop (Rural: Urban Adjacent)
• Twillingate - New World Island (Rural: Non-adjacent)
• Labrador Straits (Rural: Remote)
Role of Pilot Areas
• What do we need from you?– Input into project design, research directions and
testing of research instruments– Providing an area of focus for the development of
pilot research products– Input on initial research findings (“groundtruthing”) – Suggestions for how findings can be presented to
maximize dissemination and usefulness to communities, REDBs and other decision-makers
– Participate in applying potential solutions identified by the research
Role of Pilot Areas
• How do you want to be involved?– Regular meetings– E-mail– Website updates– Newsletter– Correspondence
• Who should be involved?– Points of contact
Thank You!!