Collective Celebration as a Vehicle for Local Economic Development

A Michigan Case

Bibliographic Data

ID18990331
AuthorsMarilyn Aronoff (Michigan State University, corresponding author)
Year1993
Volume52
Issue4
Pages368-379
Publication date1993-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHuman Organization (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0018-7259 • E-ISSN: 1938-3517
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.17730/humo.52.4.l225t2v12x4101g6
OpenAlexW2031033835
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited14

This paper argues that collective celebrations offer opportunities for local groups to experiment with social change. During a recent period of economic crisis in industry and agriculture, residents of a rural county in Michigan built on distinctive local resources to create a celebration that helped their county overcome past rivalries among its small communities and define the county itself as a viable unit for local development efforts. Renewed conceptions of local identity, social relationships, and countywide organizational cooperation, nurtured in the context of the celebration, were channelled into the county's emerging development organization. Results suggest that the expressive form provided by collective celebration can generate valuable resources for local economic recovery

Economic growth · Economics · Local economic development · Political economy · Political science · Regional science · Sociology · Place Attachment and Urban Studies · Urban Planning and Governance · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies

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