Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region
| Principal Investigator: | Bonnett, Nicole (1) |
| Licence Number: | 17416 |
| Organization: | University of Alberta |
| Licensed Year(s): |
2023
|
| Issued: | Dec 14, 2023 |
Objective(s): To better understand: 1) the extent to which relocation is integrated into local policy and strategic planning documents; 2) how local government land use planning and development processes constrain or enable relocation; and, 3) how decision-makers/planners perceive relocation.
Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No. 5731. The research aims to explore planning for climate induced relocation in Canadian communities that are vulnerable to climate stressors. This research project will address the following objectives to better understand: 1) the extent to which relocation is integrated into local policy and strategic planning documents; 2) how local government land use planning and development processes constrain or enable relocation; and 3) how decision-makers/planners perceive relocation. This exploratory research uses an instrumental case study approach to inquiry, involving five cases across five provinces/territories: British Columbia (BC), Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories (NWT). These provinces/territories were selected as they have faced the most frequent, severe, and costly climate events in the last 10 years. Moreover, these cases offer variation in relocation priority. The research will employ three complementary qualitative approaches: systematic literature review, plan content analysis, and semi-structured interviews with key actors. First, a systematic literature review will be conducted to locate, summarize, and consolidate research results. Next, a plan content analysis on local strategic planning documents and development regulations (n=20), will be conducted using a method adapted from Baynham & Stevens (2014). Finally, semi-structured interviews with key actors from five cases (total n=35), will provide context specific insights around climate action. This research project involves online (zoom) semi-structured interviews with key actors and stakeholders across five provinces/ territories (total n=35). These interviews will provide context specific insights around climate response and action. A total of 7 interviewees from each province/ territory will be interviewed and interview participants will be identified using a theoretical/ criterion approach, which will then be supplemented by a snowball sampling approach. Key actors, or participants, will include planners, elected officials, and senior management who can speak to major climate threats and how relocation is considered within planning and development processes. The interview protocol will be semi-structured to allow for greater flexibility and interview questions will be carefully crafted to ensure that the data generated is rich and sufficient to address the research objectives. This research has received ethical approval from the University of Alberta Research Ethics Board (Pro00119708). Importantly, this study does not involve research on indigenous populations, including indigenous cultures, traditions, perceptions, etc. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from: October 18 - December 31, 2023
