About the Journal

The original rationale for the publication of the JRCD continues to be adhered to which is to provide a venue for academics to publish findings in development studies that fall within rural and/or community contexts. Beyond the demographic trends toward urban living, there are issues of remoteness, regional differences, resource dependency and restructuring, environmental degradation, unemployment and depopulation, urban influence/dominance, etc. that need to be addressed.

Connections can be made to a variety of traditional (e.g., Geography, Sociology, Political Science, Economics) and non-traditional (e.g., Rural Development, Health Studies, Environmental Studies) academic disciplines, as well as research areas and perspectives (e.g., resource analysis, political economy, community action theory, community development).

The current subject areas of interest to the JRCD include: economic restructuring and diversification; social capital, capacity and cohesion; community, economic and regional development; social problems and community development; experiences with development activities; program and policy evaluation; tourism; rural condition; gender issues in development; land-use, environmental and community planning; and, rural governance and service provision.

The JRCD is published by the Rural Development Institute (RDI) at Brandon University. RDI was established in 1989 as an academic research centre and a leading source of information on issues affecting rural communities in western Canada and elsewhere. For more information, please visit: https://www.brandonu.ca/rdi.