Many countries have large mining economies. Theories of the relationship between mining and society, such as the resource curse theory, are often applied at the national level. But mining has considerable local implications that affect the sustainability of nearby towns and cities. Residents of mining towns may have to live with the long-term implications of an environment that is deteriorating physically, economically, and socially. Mining towns (often in remote locations) are also at risk because of their links to a volatile global economy.
Much research has been done on mining towns in the Global North, but less in the Global South. The empirical and theoretical work in response to this Research Topic will build a knowledge base on the sustainability of mining towns and cities across the Global South.
We use the term ‘mining’ to refer to any extraction of non-renewable minerals, including oil and gas. We do not provide a definition of sustainability, as we would like to see papers that explore the complexities and relationships that affect the sustainability of mining towns. Preference will be given to papers that show how mining either disrupts or stabilizes a town, and particularly what happens when a mine closes. We are interested in understanding the dependencies that mining creates for a mining town and the long-term implications for sustainable development.
We expect you to provide a theoretical framework for your paper. We do not have any preference, but papers that use concepts from Foucault, social disruption theory, new institutional economics, complexity theory, and evolutionary governance theory will receive favorable consideration. You could also use the growing literature on impact assessments.
We invite papers addressing the following topics on mining and the sustainability of mining towns (or cities) in the Global South:
• Analysis of open town or normalization policies
• The relationship between mining and local government finances
• The health and environmental implications for people living in mining towns
• The implications of mining booms for mining towns
• The implications of mine closure for mining towns
• Planning mining towns so as to reduce dependencies at closure
• Country specific settlement policies, how mining affects these policies, and the local implications of these policies
• The consequences of worker camps and fly-in-fly-out arrangements for nearby towns
• Case studies of towns affected by energy transitions (for example, from coal to renewable energy)
• A critique or reconsideration of company town policies
• How historical dependencies created by mining influence new visions and strategies
• The quest for economic diversification for mining towns.
Many countries have large mining economies. Theories of the relationship between mining and society, such as the resource curse theory, are often applied at the national level. But mining has considerable local implications that affect the sustainability of nearby towns and cities. Residents of mining towns may have to live with the long-term implications of an environment that is deteriorating physically, economically, and socially. Mining towns (often in remote locations) are also at risk because of their links to a volatile global economy.
Much research has been done on mining towns in the Global North, but less in the Global South. The empirical and theoretical work in response to this Research Topic will build a knowledge base on the sustainability of mining towns and cities across the Global South.
We use the term ‘mining’ to refer to any extraction of non-renewable minerals, including oil and gas. We do not provide a definition of sustainability, as we would like to see papers that explore the complexities and relationships that affect the sustainability of mining towns. Preference will be given to papers that show how mining either disrupts or stabilizes a town, and particularly what happens when a mine closes. We are interested in understanding the dependencies that mining creates for a mining town and the long-term implications for sustainable development.
We expect you to provide a theoretical framework for your paper. We do not have any preference, but papers that use concepts from Foucault, social disruption theory, new institutional economics, complexity theory, and evolutionary governance theory will receive favorable consideration. You could also use the growing literature on impact assessments.
We invite papers addressing the following topics on mining and the sustainability of mining towns (or cities) in the Global South:
• Analysis of open town or normalization policies
• The relationship between mining and local government finances
• The health and environmental implications for people living in mining towns
• The implications of mining booms for mining towns
• The implications of mine closure for mining towns
• Planning mining towns so as to reduce dependencies at closure
• Country specific settlement policies, how mining affects these policies, and the local implications of these policies
• The consequences of worker camps and fly-in-fly-out arrangements for nearby towns
• Case studies of towns affected by energy transitions (for example, from coal to renewable energy)
• A critique or reconsideration of company town policies
• How historical dependencies created by mining influence new visions and strategies
• The quest for economic diversification for mining towns.