Rural Synergy: Reconnecting Bay de Verde’s Cultural Landscape in Outport Newfoundland

Abstract

This thesis explores the cultural landscape of a small fishing town in Newfoundland whose character has been largely shaped by the sea. A resettlement program in the 1960’s, the cod moratorium in 1992, and various stages of migration have devalued outport life and its pluralistic economy, causing rural decline. While many rural regeneration strategies developed by the government emphasize tourism, this thesis proposes a multitude of other sectors for self-sufficiency and growth in outports, including education, ownership, and innovation, using the concept of “Rural Synergy”, which this thesis defines as interconnected actions of making, growing, and sharing.

A holistic rural revitalization scheme is developed which preserves cultural practices and mobilizes new frameworks of economic and social development, incorporating microscale programs of workshops, hydroponics, and co-op market. Ultimately, the thesis engages broader polemics about rural-urban organizations while acknowledging the deep linkages of rural economies in a cultural landscape like Newfoundland.