Planning for a soft landing : non-renewable resource development and community infrastructure in the Northwest Territories

This paper provided a high-level overview of research related to the boom and bust cycle of resource-based economic development and community infrastructure in the north, particularly in the Northwest Territories. The paper focused on what is known and on knowledge gaps that needed to be filled in each of 3 theme areas for an experts workshop on northern communities. The themes that were discussed at the workshop and in this paper were: the connections between non-renewable resources development and community infrastructure in the north; planning for resource development; and strategies for moving ahead and putting ideas into practice. The paper discussed the objectives of the research and discussed findings under each of the 3 themes. Topics discussed included: changes in the infrastructure mix; infrastructure and climate change; infrastructure financing; uncertainty; knowledge; planning tools; stakeholder participation; and measuring and monitoring planning implementation. Data availability was also discussed along with funding mechanisms, technological innovations and community capacity building. It was concluded that strategies for dealing with the boom-induced infrastructure challenges facing communities in the Northwest Territories should focus on making more creative use of available funding; promoting technical innovation; and improving maintenance capacity at the community level. 62 refs