Rural Communities: The Roadway to Sustainability
The current pandemic has handed us all a challenge. We are learning how self-sufficient we are, how long we can shelter in place and how best to attain the things we need without venturing too far, or coming into contact with too many people.
For us in New Brunswick, it’s much easier to face those challenges than it is for those living in large urban metropolis. In fact, if we look at the factors that have contributed to flattening the curve in New Brunswick low population density and the “ruralness” of our province has proven to be a positive. Such an irony after decades of fighting that very challenge.
Generally, I make at least one trip weekly from Sussex to Saint John, Moncton, or Fredericton for one reason or another. During this pandemic that has been reduced to once every six weeks. Yesterday required a trip to Saint John for an eye-glass repair as our store in Sussex is closed. It was during that drive that I started thinking about how self-sufficient we are in our little town. Local producers, craftspeople, retail outlets, healthcare and schools all present and part of the fabric that makes it a vibrant town. Yet, part of the livability of the town is it’s proximity to urban centres. Not only to obtain goods and services but because of the market those cities provide for our producers and for those in our hospitality industry that depend on urbanites to take respite in the natural areas along the river valley all the way to the Bay of Fundy.
As we rebuild after this pandemic, one of the things we need to re-think is the value of those urban and rural linkages in New Brunswick and across the country. It is easy to jump to the conclusion that urban centres are the real catalysts in our society as they are the centres for commerce, large scale manufacturing and refining, finance, and infrastructure related to social services such as health and education. However, there is also tremendous value in rural areas such a food security, energy production, waste management, low cost housing options, niche retail experiences, and the general relief from urban congestion.
Fortunately, in New Brunswick solid infrastructure physically links our rural and urban regions. Unlike remote communities in the north of our country, we can quite easily connect via roadways and through technology. In fact, natural corridors were historically developed along our river systems in New Brunswick creating ribbons of development rather than hamlets familiar in other regions. We were actually designed to be a ride through, sail through, drive through province with clusters and trading hubs along the way connecting Atlantic Canada to the rest of North America. We can use that to our advantage now.
Imagine a province that starts to tackle the economic and fiscal challenges faced by municipalities and the province by simply rethinking the relationships between our urban, suburban, and rural areas. What if we started thinking about those clusters as interdependent. As true equal partners. Recognizing that each provides different pieces to the eco-system but of equal value. What if we stopped thinking that urban tax bases subsidize infrastructure and growth in rural areas but rather recognize that those investments benefit both rural and urban communities.
What if we harnessed the innovation happening in both rural and urban communities and created strategies to improve services and foster greater diversification of local economies increasing the viability of all communities. It’s not like our urban communities exist without challenges right now. They have them too and in many ways they are much more complex than what’s needed for sustainable growth in rural areas. We should be looking both ways for solutions and moving forward with an understanding that we are in this together. The solutions may not be universal but it is time for an innovative, collaborative approach that sees our urban/rural make up as an advantage rather than the force that drags us down.
We don’t need to wait for revised government policy. The change can happen at a grassroots community level. Start thinking about your urban/rural connections. Think about strengthening those relationships. Lifting each other up. What does support local really mean in New Brunswick? Does it mean supporting your own community or does it mean supporting all those communities that you depend on to be self-sufficient in times like these.
