The transformation of place: Boom, bust, and adjustment in Rifle, Colorado

Between 1973 and 1983, dozens of nonmetropolitan towns and counties in the Rocky Mountain West experienced rapid growth due to the development of energy resources and the construction of power generation facilities. After 1983, however, many of these energy-impacted communities went bust as energy producers abandoned, downsized, or completed their respective projects. Although the effects of the energy boom in the region have been studied extensively by scholars, the processes and impacts associated with the energy bust have not been fully examined. This study presents the case history of Rifle, Colorado, a town which was severely impacted by the rapid growth and sudden collapse of the oil shale industry during the early 1980s. The focus of this study is on Rifle's post-boom functional transformations and the organized efforts of its residents to restructure the local economy through a tourism-related project. A model, based on Allan Pred's theory of place, is introduced and utilized for a detailed sequential analysis of Rifle's transformation process. It is argued that this transformation of place is an agency-driven, proactive process.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Geography

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2011

Author dc:creator

• Rogers, Jefferson Sanford

Contributors dc:contributor

• Jakle, John A.

• History, United States
• Geography
• Sociology, Social Structure and Development

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 1995 Rogers, Jefferson Sanford

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

AAI9543707
(UMI)AAI9543707

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/20061