Local Attitudes to Changing Land Use – Narrabri Shire, a collaborative research project between The University of Newcastle and the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI), explored how land use and land use change is conceptualised and understood within local contexts.
The research focussed on the Narrabri Shire, a community with a long history of significant land use change and intensification in coal and gas interests that challenged the traditional agricultural base of the community.
The project offered significant insights into how place-based values and notions of proximity inform attitudes to land use change and, argued for the need to attend to a cultural code of reciprocity to build trust and legitimacy of large-scale development projects. The research resulted in a major report submitted to the DPI, highlighting issues related to local politics of land use, place attachment, notions of rural citizenship, knowledge generation and intergenerational concerns. The work contributed to the development the NSW Social Impact Assessment Guideline and has informed local conversations about social impact management plans and community engagement.
Partners: Dr Hedda Haugen Askland (CI), Dr Michael Askew, Dr Julia Coffey, Dr David Farrugia, Dr Jo Hanley, Dr Meg Sherval, Dr Steven Threadgold, Centre for Social Research and Regional Futures / Centre for Urban and Regional Studies, The University of Newcastle; NSW Department of Primary Resources