Examining the crossroads
Gander part of worldwide research on globalization impacts
Upon its founding, Gander became known as the Crossroads of the World, playing as an essential part in transatlantic air travel.
But decades ago, technological advances in aviation allowed aircraft to travel further distances in short amounts of time causing the airport to lose some of its relevancy.
At the time many thought this would be the end of the heavily dependent airport town.
Yet, Gander continued to flourish and its something that has caught the attention of Michael Woods.
The professor of Human Geography at Aberystwyth University in Wales, has been working on a project examining the global-rural impact, funded by the European Research Council.
He’s been studying how globalization has impacted rural communities in different parts of the world and how the areas studied have responded to that change.
He’s also been looking at rural areas within the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil and China.
Embracing the local
Woods saw including Gander in the research important as it was created as part of the globalization process.
“People were kind of predicting the slow, painful death of Gander at that time, without the international services,” said Woods. “Yet, 30 years later it’s still thriving.”
His research indicated key factors in its success was embracing the local.
“Gander had gone in the different direction than towns, where historically, the economy is based on the local area and attaching to the global network,” he said. “Gander started attached to the global network and increased its dependence on the local service area.”
The transition, he said, was the result of forward thinking leadership.
“The airport itself was very alert to its situation and was always adapting to try and shift with technological and geological changes, meaning its market was constantly evolving,” Woods said.
“Secondly, if you go back to the ’70s and early ’80s, the town leadership probably deserves a lot of credit for not just simply relying on the airport and not seeing Gander as a single industry town.”
Along with utilizing the town’s hospital, bringing in post-secondary education, senior housing development and a skilled work force, “a lot of effort went into developing a service industry in central Newfoundland,” he said.
A positive message
The research will be used to draw different lessons of what worked and what didn’t work in the areas of study.
Woods sees Gander’s story as a positive message to rural regions facing globalization issues.
“I think it comes down to actually being proactive instead of waiting for things to happen, anticipating those changes and adapting, that’s what Gander did and that’s a key lesson to take away,” he said.
According to Woods, the research and analysis is still ongoing, but expects to have it completed and published online sometime next year.