Habitat Maintenance and Local Economic Ethics in Rural Atlantic Canada.

Area of Science:

• Rural sociology
• Community studies
• Economic ethics

Background:

• Jane Jacobs's concept of "habitat maintenance" provides a framework.
• Rural communities often face short-term economic pressures that conflict with long-term sustainability.
• Outsider perceptions of rural practices can misinterpret underlying ethical motivations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the core ethics driving long-term community preservation among rural residents.
• To analyze how these ethics influence seemingly "irrational" rural practices.
• To re-evaluate rural economic development through the lens of situated pragmatism.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative research utilizing focus groups.
• Data collected from four distinct rural communities in Atlantic Canada.
• Analysis of shared ethical principles related to local economy and subsistence.

Main Results:

• Identified shared ethics in entrepreneurship, local purchasing, and subsistence practices.
• These ethics underpin community preservation efforts, often counter to short-term gains.
• Rural practices, viewed through "habitat maintenance," demonstrate situated rationality.

Conclusions:

• Rural community preservation is driven by specific, often unarticulated, ethics.
• Rethinking rural economic development requires acknowledging local values and pragmatism.
• A focus on "habitat maintenance" offers a more suitable framework for rural prosperity and sustainability.