This is a case study undertaken in White Rock, a postindustrial,
oceanside town of 16,000 on Canada's southwest
border. The participant-observation research was undertaken
between 1989 and 1993 when the author was politically active in
the community. Noting a challenge to an encrusted city council
from a loosely affiliated group who soon became members or
supporters of the "White Rock Residents' Association", the
participant intervened to explore theories about the instability
of post-industria1 society and the emancipatory power of new
social movements.
Believing that the environmentalist social movement could
attract broad public appeal and was conducive to grassroots
progressive politics, the participant utilized the power of
environmental ideology by publically prioritizing environmental
issues while seeking a council seat as a political newcomer in a
town where local elections were often uncontested. Although
unsuccessful and subject to countervailing gender politics, the
author placed seventh on a ballot of 11 for six council
positions, outperforming several long-term and influential
residents of the community.
Chapter One provides a brief, overview of the research
project, with further methodological discussion in Appendix A.
Chapter Two gives a comparative discussion of environmentalist
and localist ideologies, suggesting how they pertain to the White
Rock community. Chapter Three offers a profile of the community
of White Rock as it undergoes certain changes while facing
environmental problems. The final chapter considers changing
political and power relations between local and senior
governments as they respond to environmental regional problems.
During the period of intervention, new political party
provincial and federal governments were elected, and in White
Rock a member of the White Rock Residents' Association became
the city's provincial member of the legislative assembly, while
an active Reform Party member became federal member of
Parliament. As well, the Boundary Board of Health won a power
battle with city council to eliminate swimming at White Rock's
polluted west beach, demonstrating the newly won influence of the
provincial government.
In exploring and comparing environmentalist and localist
politics, both the research and literature review indicate that
environmentalist ideology and political practice can lead to a
reformation of traditional localist politics, resulting in
greater influence and prestige for environmental organizations.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/4698 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Rudd, Jennifer Lynn |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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