Constructions of Power and Place in the Creation of New York City’s Watershed

• In Event: 2251 - Section on Environmental Sociology Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 11. Environmental Injustice

Abstract

Technical and environmental changes have unique impacts on rural communities because these changes are often tightly coupled with changes in the community’s economy. Past work on rural development suggests that understanding the consequences of development on a rural economy is not enough; instead we must examine development longitudinally, from the proposal to the aftermath. Current scholars have accepted this premise and demonstrated the framing processes that shape decision making around rural development projects. A parallel line of research has focused on tourism based development in rural areas, which often draws from literature on sense of place. The current project relies on comparative historical data to integrate the concepts of sense of place concept and collective memory into our understanding of rural community framing around the possibility of development. The creation and expansion of New York City’s rural West of the Hudson watershed demonstrates a complex power relationship between the city and its hinterlands. This process led to a shared sense of place and collective memory among the watershed communities, resulting in two distinct reactions to the city’s reach into its rural watershed.

Author

• Sarah Blake, Gonzaga University