rural development

[nakodo]

In the UK the urban rural interface is getting more and more blurred as 'city' people move to the country to enjoy a 'better' way of life. These commuters (electronic and or by car) are bringing new life to rural towns. Seniors are retiring to these towns. Can Canada learn a lesson here, instead of seeking the big prise ie a new factory in our town how about putting up facilities to lure these urban commuter/retirees to our towns, things like care facilities for the elderly, social clubs for them as well, fibre optics systems for the electronic commuters, shuttle bus services for the travellers. Or is agriculture against rural development (these are the people who will not like the smell of pigs, the feedlot runoff, the all night combining). How about it?

[danm]

The pig issue is red hot in MB.What we have right now is the city cousins pouring millions of dollars into the barns(& a few token farmers).This in turn sets off the neighbors & off we go to hearings.Our municipality is next to a city & has lots of small holdings & the revenues are quite high for the municipality & the owner selling the land.So people have already bought into moving to the country.Then along comes a barn that in some cases the previous owner of the small holding wants to put a barn in the new owners space.So hard feelings start & don't go away for along time,after all in the country don't you look after your neighbor? We have all heard the agruments that grain doesn't smell as bad as pigs(unless your asmatic We had a small town 15 miles away objecting to barn because they didn't want it in there back yard,taking there property values down. I think municipalities should get there act together & establish a industrial zones for these mega operations keeping them away from the town folk & the town folk could breathe clean air & drink fresh water. I think we can learn something from the Uk & start developing our small towns but we have to have lots of vision to do it right.Don't build up & town & then poison them with industry or they might as well stay in the city. Looking forward to the discussion. Dan

[noelm]

Dan, I think you are right on the money with your comment that small towns and municipalities need a vision in order to 'do it right'. Very few have a vision of what they want their communities and surrounding areas to look like, and the ecological/social conditions they want in those areas in 20, 50, 100 years from now. Without that kind of vision, there is no way to figure out what kind of activity is appropriate in a given area. Noelm

[cakadu]

Interesting thoughts that could work with the right planning and foresight. My one major concern will be that people will come to the rural areas for the country life, but still want to shop and do their business in the 'big city' where selection, prices etc. etc. are a big factor. I don't want to see good, productive agricultural land being taken out of production to make room for acreages. I had the good fortune to listen to Patrick Moore not too long ago. Mr. Moore was one of the founding members of Greenpeace who is now on the 'other side' and referred to as the eco Judas. He says that urban sprawl has to be kept in check and that farming should become more intensive. His reasoning is that if farming is more intensive, then there is more room for trees and wildlife. Definitely food for thought. Again, all of this must be done strategically and with planning. Linda