The Weekender Effect II
The Weekender Effect II
Kirsten Lyon
, Marilyn Stanley
, Margo Beredjiklian
, Noelle Walsh
, Dawn Macdonald
, Andrea Pole
, Barry Kazimer
, Sarah Schwartz
, Linda Leitch
, Jude Castillo
, Elisha Lazarski
, Andrea Gillespie
, Janet Hosokawa
, PATRICIA SOPEL
, Agnes Marshall
, Debra Fisher
, Joshua Lewis
, Natasa Ilic
, Elmira Olson
, Deb Philippon
, Leila Grobel
, Shayla Bradley
, Lisa Mallia
, Janice Cournoyer
, Leonard Constant
, Rhona Brinkman
, Jeff George
, Kim Cappellina
, Cynthia Heinrichs
, Susan Ratcliffe
, Jane Graham
, Pamela Roberts Griffith
, Heather Belliveau
, Leslie Vermeer
, C. Ray
, Marin Beck
, Elaine Baptie
, Christine Lion
, Maureen Brownlee
, Mary Lester
, Rosa Cross
, Rodney Cross
, Benita Hartwell
, Christopher Evans
, Randi Ann Doll
, Alanna King
, Karen Nordrum
, Marilyn Kaluza Massoud
, Gwynn Scheltema
, tom stormonth
, Colleen Coco Collins
, Thelma Ball
, Karen Segal
, Dani Kat
, Hoda Montazeri
, Patricia Johnson
, Stephanie Trotter
, Kim Wiggins
editor@49thShelf.com
The pandemic, and the rapid introduction of technologies in its wake that enabled many to work from home, have put spectacular pressure on mountain and other resort communities that were already under siege by outside and foreign speculators and increasingly overwhelmed by owners of second and even third homes. Unmanageable development pressures and the explosion in property values fuelled by low interest rates and high incomes are undermining the very character of many communities and, by making where they live unaffordable, driving out the very locals who over decades established the charm, character, and sense of place and of belonging that now make their communities so attractive to weekenders and visitors alike.
Swelling populations, out-of-control tourism, and associated recreational and other pressures are also pressing hard against ecological limits in these places just when, in the absence of effective global climate action, the threatening effects and dangerous impacts of climate change appear to have arrived 20 to 30 years earlier than projected.
Fortunately, in the midst of this perfect storm of change there remains much that communities can do to maintain their identity. Major breakthroughs in science continue to unravel our society’s mechanistic world view and point the way to reconciliation with one another and restoration of hope for the future. The sequel to an earlier book on the same concerns, The Weekender Effect II: Fallout is a passionate plea for considered development in these precious communities and for the necessary protection and restoration of landscapes and positive transformation of local values, identity, and sense of place, here and everywhere.
