Are Urban Youth More Modern? Spatially Based Differentiation, Home Leaving, and Transition Outcomes in Gatineau, Rouyn-Noranda, and Saguenay

Authors

  • Marc Molgat University of Ottawa
  • Patrice LeBlanc Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue
  • Martin Simard Université du Québec à Chicoutimi

Keywords:

Regional development, Youth, Spatial differentiation

Abstract

This article focuses on an interesting question for studies of youth and regional development: How are the transitions and social integration of young people shaped by the localities and spaces they are brought up in and through which they pass on their way to adulthood? Using social differentiation theory, our study focuses on how the socioeconomic and historic structuring of regions and individual mobility may leave imprints on the life course of young adults. We examine this issue from the angle of the transitions to adulthood of migrant and nonmigrant youth who live in the cities of two region types: metropolitan or urban fringe environments and resource- and agriculture-dependent regions. The analysis is based on survey data collected from young adults aged 20 to 29 years (N = 1,202) living in Gatineau, Rouyn-Noranda, and Saguenay in the Province of Quebec. Results show not only that metropolitan youth are not more “modern” than their regional counterparts but also that youth mobility has effects on the locales under study.

Author Biographies

Marc Molgat, University of Ottawa

Marc Molgat, Ph.D., is a an Associate Professor at University of Ottawa’s School of Social Work and a member of the Observatoire Jeunes et Société (www.obsjeunes.qc.ca). His teaching focuses on the theoretical basis for social work, social change, as well as community intervention and social development. His research mainly concerns the lives of youths, including their housing trajectories and relationships with parents, as well as the integration of youths with low levels of education. He is completing a study on the social and occupational integration of young adults living in their parents’ home and is participating in two other studies funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ? one entitled “Habiter seul, vivre isolé ?” (2005-2008) and the other, “Mobilités étudiantes et construction identitaire” (2007-2010). He is also a member of Community-University Research Alliances (CURA) “Social Innovation and Community Development”.

Patrice LeBlanc, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue

Patrice LeBlanc is a sociologist and professor in the department of Social and Developmental Sciences at the University of Quebec in Abitibi-Temiscamingue (UQAT). He is the director of the Desjardins Research Chair on the Development of Small Communities and a researcher at the Laboratory for the Support of Communities at UQAT. His research work focuses on the internal migration of youth in Quebec (in particular rural and native youth) and on the development of rural villages in Quebec and Canada.

Martin Simard, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi

Martin Simard is professor in social geography and urban planning at Department of Social Sciences of the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi. He is a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners and of the Research Center on Territorial Development.

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Published

2009-01-26

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 3 (2008)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright for articles published in this journal is retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. By virtue of their appearance in this open access journal, articles are free to use, with proper attribution, in educational and other non-commercial settings.