Discourses of Resource Dependency: Second Homeowners as “Lifeblood” in Vacationland
Meaghan L. Stiman
Department of Sociology, College of William & Mary
Search for more papers by this authorMeaghan L. Stiman
Department of Sociology, College of William & Mary
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
In recent decades, rural destinations that once relied on the production and extraction of land and resources now rely on tourism as the primary economic pursuit. Such destinations have experienced a surge of new migrants in the form of tourists, permanent newcomers, and second homeowners. Scholars have turned to how permanent residents perceive these changes and new populations, revealing that in some instances permanent residents are more accepting of newcomers due to economic constraints. I extend this line of research by asking how, and under what conditions, permanent residents favorably view second homeowners, a specific type of rural in-migrant. Drawing on ethnographic data in Rangeley, Maine, I develop the concept “discourses of resource dependency,” to clarify how and why localities justify, explain, and ultimately pursue one economic resource over another. In this case, local residents view second homeowners as a resource that will ensure the town's economic sustainability, and this frame enables local residents to view their in-migration favorably. This frame emerges not just from structural economic circumstances, but also from a confluence of historical and cultural conditions that elevate the import of second homeowners in Rangeley's place-making project.
References
- Abrams, Jesse B., Hannah Gosnell, Nicholas J. Gill, and Peter J. Klepeis. 2012. “Re-Creating the Rural, Reconstructing Nature: An International Literature Review of the Environmental Implications of Amenity Migration.” Conservation and Society 10(3): 270.
- Alkon, Alison Hope and Michael Traugot. 2008. “Place Matters, But How? Rural Identity, Environmental Decision Making, and the Social Construction of Place.” City & Community 7(2): 97–112.
- Armstrong, Andrea and Richard C. Stedman. 2013. “Culture Clash and Second Home Ownership in the US Northern Forest.” Rural Sociology 78(3): 318–45.
- Armstrong, Andrea and Richard C. Stedman. 2019. “Understanding Local Environmental Concern: The Importance of Place.” Rural Sociology 84(1): 93–122.
- Bailey, Carol R. 2017. A Guide to Qualitative Field Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
- Barman, Emily. 2006. Contesting Communities: The Transformation of Workplace Charity. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
10.1515/9780804768085 Google Scholar
- Bell, Michael. 1994. Childerley: Nature and Morality in a Country Village. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
- Breen, Timothy H. 1996. Imagining the Past: East Hampton Histories. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press.
- Brown, David L. and Kai A. Schafft. 2011. Rural People and Communities in the 21st Century: Resilience and Transformation. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
- Brown, Dona. 1995. Inventing New England: Regional Tourism in the Nineteenth Century. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.
- Brown-Saracino, Japonica. 2007. “Virtuous Marginality: Social Preservationists and the Selection of the Old-Timer.” Theory and Society 36(5): 437–68.
- Brown-Saracino, Japonica. 2010. A Neighborhood That Never Changes: Gentrification, Social Preservation, and the Search for Authenticity. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
- Brown-Saracino, Japonica. 2015. “How Places Shape Identity: The Origins of Distinctive LBQ Identities in Four Small U.S. Cities.” American Journal of Sociology 121(1): 1–63.
- Brown-Saracino, Japonica. 2018. How Places Make Us: Novel LBQ Identities in Four Small Cities. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
10.7208/chicago/9780226361390.001.0001 Google Scholar
- Brown-Saracino, Japonica and Meaghan Stiman. 2017. “ How to Avoid Getting Stuck in Meetings.” Pp. 88–105 in Meeting Ethnography: Meetings as Key Technologies of Contemporary Governance, Development, and Resistance, edited by Jen Sandler and Renita Thedvall. Abingdon, UK: Taylor & Francis.
10.4324/9781315559407-5 Google Scholar
- Butler, Richard W. 1980. “The Concept of a Tourist Area Cycle of Evolution: Implications for Management of Resources.” Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe Canadien 24(1): 5–12.
- Cadieux, Kirsten Valentine and Patrick T. Hurley. 2011. “Amenity Migration, Exurbia, and Emerging Rural Landscapes: Global Natural Amenity as Place and as Process.” GeoJournal 76(4): 297–302.
10.1007/s10708-009-9335-0 Google Scholar
- Chevalier, Sophie, Emmanuelle Lallement, and Sophie Corbillé. 2013. Paris comme résidence secondaire - Enquête chez ces propriétaires d'un nouveau genre. Paris, France: Belin Litterature Et Revues.
- Clendenning, Greg, Donald R. Field, and Kirsten J. Kapp. 2005. “A Comparison of Seasonal Homeowners and Permanent Residents on Their Attitudes Toward Wildlife Management on Public Lands.” Human Dimensions of Wildlife 10(1): 3–17.
10.1080/10871200590904842 Google Scholar
- Colocousis, Chris R. 2012. “‘It Was Tourism Repellent, That's What We Were Spraying’: Natural Amenities, Environmental Stigma, and Redevelopment in a Postindustrial Mill Town.” Sociological Forum 27(3): 756–76.
- Coppock, John Terence. 1977. Second Homes: Curse or Blessing? Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier Science & Technology.
- Cuba, Lee and David M. Hummon. 1993. “Constructing a Sense of Home: Place Affiliation and Migration Across the Life Cycle.” Sociological Forum 8: 547–72.
- Dolgon, Corey. 2005. The End of the Hamptons: Scenes from the Class Struggle in America's Paradise. New York: NYU Press.
- Ellis, Edward. 1982. “A Chronological History of the Rangeley Lakes Region Bs.” Retrieved October 26, 2016 (http://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/a-chronological-history-of-the-rangeley-lakes-region/author/ellis-edward/).
- Farstad, Maja. 2011. “Rural Residents' Opinions about Second Home Owners' Pursuit of Own Interests in the Host Community.” Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift - Norwegian Journal of Geography 65(3): 165–74.
- Fernandez, Rodrigo, Annelore Hofman, and Manuel B. Aalbers. 2016. “London and New York as a Safe Deposit Box for the Transnational Wealth Elite.” Environment and Planning A 48(12): 2443–61.
- Gallent, Nick, Alan Mace, and Mark Tewdwr-Jones. 2017. Second Homes: European Perspectives and UK Policies. London, UK: Routledge.
10.4324/9781315243580 Google Scholar
- Getz, Donald. 1983. “Capacity to Absorb Tourism: Concepts and Implications for Strategic Planning.” Annals of Tourism Research 10(2): 239–63.
- Ghose, Rina. 2004. “Big Sky or Big Sprawl? Rural Gentrification and the Changing Cultural Landscape of Missoula, Montana.” Urban Geography 25(6): 528–49.
- Glaser, Barney G. and Anselm L. Strauss. 2009. The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. Piscataway, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
- Goffman, Erving. 1974. Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Gosnell, Hannah and Jesse Abrams. 2011. “Amenity Migration: Diverse Conceptualizations of Drivers, Socioeconomic Dimensions, and Emerging Challenges.” GeoJournal 76(4): 303–22.
10.1007/s10708-009-9295-4 Google Scholar
- Greenberg, Miriam. 2008. Branding New York: How a City in Crisis Was Sold to the World. Abingdon, UK: Taylor & Francis.
- Griswold, Wendy. 1987. “A Methodological Framework for the Sociology of Culture.” Sociological Methodology 17: 1–35.
10.2307/271027 Google Scholar
- Hall, Colin Michael and Dieter K. Müller. 2004. Tourism, Mobility, and Second Homes: Between Elite Landscape and Common Ground. Bristol, UK: Channel View Publications.
10.21832/9781873150825 Google Scholar
- Hanes, Samuel P. 2018. “Aquaculture and the Postproductive Transition on the Maine Coast.” Geographical Review 108(2): 185–202.
- Harrill, Rich. 2004. “Residents' Attitudes toward Tourism Development: A Literature Review with Implications for Tourism Planning.” Journal of Planning Literature 18(3): 251–66.
- Hiner, Colleen C. 2014. “‘Been-Heres vs. Come-Heres’ and Other Identities and Ideologies along the Rural-Urban Interface: A Comparative Case Study in Calaveras County, California.” Land Use Policy: The International Journal Covering All Aspects of Land Use 41: 70–83.
- Hines, J. Dwight. 2012. “The Post-Industrial Regime of Production/Consumption and the Rural Gentrification of the New West Archipelago.” Antipode 44(1): 74–97.
- Stephen J. Hornsby and Richard W. Judd, eds. 2015. Historical Atlas of Maine. Orono, ME: University of Maine Press.
- Hummon, David M. 1990. Commonplaces: Community Ideology and Identity in American Culture. Albany: SUNY Press.
- Jaakson, Reiner. 1986. “Second-Home Domestic Tourism.” Annals of Tourism Research 13(3): 367–91.
- Jerolmack, Colin and Alexandra K. Murphy. 2017. “The Ethical Dilemmas and Social Scientific Trade-Offs of Masking in Ethnography.” Sociological Methods & Research https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124117701483.
- Kaufman, Jason and Matthew E. Kaliner. 2011. “The Re-Accomplishment of Place in Twentieth Century Vermont and New Hampshire: History Repeats Itself, until It Doesn't.” Theory and Society 40(2): 119–54.
- Krahulik, Karen Christel. 2007. Provincetown: From Pilgrim Landing to Gay Resort. New York: NYU Press.
- Kuentzel, Walter F. and Varna Mukundan Ramaswamy. 2005. “Tourism and Amenity Migration: A Longitudinal Analysis.” Annals of Tourism Research 32(2): 419–38.
- Laliberte, Nicole. 2012. “Sophistication at a Country Pace: Community Sustainability and Amenity-Based Development.” GeoJournal 77(2): 279–92.
10.1007/s10708-009-9332-3 Google Scholar
- Lankford, Samuel V. 1994. “Attitudes and Perceptions Toward Tourism and Rural Regional Development.” Journal of Travel Research 32(3): 35–43.
10.1177/004728759403200306 Google Scholar
- Larsen, Soren and Craig Hutton. 2012. “Community Discourse and the Emerging Amenity Landscapes of the Rural American West.” GeoJournal 77(5): 651–65.
10.1007/s10708-011-9410-1 Google Scholar
- Lichter, Daniel T. and David L. Brown. 2011. “Rural America in an Urban Society: Changing Spatial and Social Boundaries.” Annual Review of Sociology 37(1): 565–92.
- Long, Patrick T., Richard R. Perdue, and Lawrence Allen. 1990. “Rural Resident Tourism Perceptions and Attitudes by Community Level of Tourism.” Journal of Travel Research 28(3): 3–9.
- Macgregor, Lyn C. 2010. Habits of the Heartland: Small-Town Life in Modern America. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
- Maine Department of Labor: Center for Workforce Research & Information. 2014. “Annual Private Industry Employment and Wages, Rangeley, ME.” Retrieved July 18, 2019 (https://www.maine.gov/labor/cwri/qcew1.html).
- McGehee, Nancy G. and Kathleen L. Andereck. 2004. “Factors Predicting Rural Residents' Support of Tourism.” Journal of Travel Research 43(2): 131–40.
10.1177/0047287504268234 Google Scholar
- McGuire, Peter. 2017. “Maine Keeps Attracting Visitors in Steadily Growing Numbers—Nearly 36 Million.” Press Herald. Retrieved March 19, 2018 (https://www.pressherald.com/2017/03/15/maine-tourism-economy-continues-growth-in-2016/).
- McIntyre, Norman, Daniel Williams, and Kevin McHugh. 2006. Multiple Dwelling and Tourism: Negotiating Place, Home and Identity. Wallingford, UK: CABI.
10.1079/9780845931202.0000 Google Scholar
- Milligan, Melinda J. 1998. “Interactional Past and Potential: The Social Construction of Place Attachment.” Symbolic Interaction 21(1): 1–33.
- Milman, Ady and Abraham Pizam. 1988. “Social Impacts of Tourism on Central Florida.” Annals of Tourism Research 15(2): 191–204.
- Molotch, Harvey, William Freudenburg, and Krista E. Paulsen. 2000. “History Repeats Itself, But How? City Character, Urban Tradition, and the Accomplishment of Place.” American Sociological Review 65(6): 791–823.
- Nesbitt, J. Todd and Daniel Weiner. 2001. “Conflicting Environmental Imaginaries and the Politics of Nature in Central Appalachia.” Geoforum 32(3): 333–49.
- Palmer, R. Donald. 2004. Rangeley Lakes Region. Mount Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing.
- Paris, Chris. 2009. “Re-positioning Second Homes within Housing Studies: Household Investment, Gentrification, Multiple Residence, Mobility and Hyper-consumption.” Housing, Theory and Society 26(4): 292–310.
10.1080/14036090802300392 Google Scholar
- Paris, Chris. 2010. Affluence, Mobility and Second Home Ownership. London, UK: Routledge.
10.4324/9780203846506 Google Scholar
- Park, Lisa Sun-Hee and David Naguib Pellow. 2011. The Slums of Aspen: Immigrants vs. the Environment in America's Eden. New York: NYU Press.
- Park, Minkyung, Monika Derrien, Emilian Geczi, and Patricia A. Stokowski. 2019. “Grappling with Growth: Perceptions of Development and Preservation in Faster- and Slower-Growing Amenity Communities.” Society & Natural Resources 32(1): 73–92.
- Paulsen, Krista E. 2004. “Making Character Concrete: Empirical Strategies for Studying Place Distinction.” City & Community 3(3): 243–62.
10.1111/j.1535-6841.2004.00080.x Google Scholar
- Pfeffer, Jeffrey and Gerald R. Salancik. 2003. The External Control of Organizations: A Resource Dependence Perspective. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
- Pitkänen, Kati, Czesław Adamiak, and Greg Halseth. 2014. “Leisure Activities and Rural Community Change: Valuation and Use of Rural Space among Permanent Residents and Second Home Owners.” Sociologia Ruralis 54(2): 143–66.
- Priest, Gary. 2003. History of Rangeley Hotels and Camps. G. Priest.
- Priest, Gary. 2009. The Gilded Age of Rangeley, Maine. Gary Priest Publishing.
- Rye, Johan Fredrik. 2011. “Conflicts and Contestations. Rural Populations' Perspectives on the Second Homes Phenomenon.” Journal of Rural Studies 27(3): 263–74.
- Salamon, Sonya. 2007. Newcomers to Old Towns: Suburbanization of the Heartland. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
- Shumway, J. Matthew and James A. Davis. 2010. “Nonmetropolitan Population Change In the Mountain West: 1970–1995.” Rural Sociology 61: 513–29.
10.1111/j.1549-0831.1996.tb00632.x Google Scholar
- Small, Mario Luis, David J. Harding, and Michèle Lamont. 2010. “Introduction: Reconsidering Culture and Poverty.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 629: 6–27.
- Smiley, Kevin T., Wanda Rushing, and Michele Scott. 2016. “Behind a Bicycling Boom: Governance, Cultural Change and Place Character in Memphis, Tennessee.” Urban Studies 53(1): 193–209.
- Smith, Michael D. and Richard S. Krannich. 1998. “Tourism Dependence and Resident Attitudes.” Annals of Tourism Research 25(4): 783–802.
- Smith, Michael D. and Richard S. Krannich. 2000. “‘Culture Clash’ Revisited: Newcomer and Longer-Term Residents' Attitudes Toward Land Use, Development, and Environmental Issues in Rural Communities in the Rocky Mountain West.” Rural Sociology 65(3): 396–421.
- Spain, Daphne. 1993. “Been-Heres Versus Come-Heres Negotiating Conflicting Community Identities.” Journal of the American Planning Association 59(2): 156–71.
- Stiman, Meaghan. 2019. “Speculators and Specters: Diverse Forms of Second Homeowner Engagement in Boston, Massachusetts.” Journal of Urban Affairs, 41(5): 700–20.
- Taylor, Laura. 2011. "No Boundaries: Exurbia and the Study of Contemporary Urban Dispersion." GeoJournal 76(4): 323–39.
10.1007/s10708-009-9300-y Google Scholar
- The Town of Rangeley. 2012. “Rangeley Comprehensive Plan.” Retrieved July 18, 2019 (https://www.townofrangeley.com/263/Comprehensive-Plan).
- Treivish, Andrey I. 2014. “‘Dacha Studies’ as the Science on Second Homes in the West and in Russia.” Regional Research of Russia 4(3): 179–88.
10.1134/S2079970514030095 Google Scholar
- U.S. Census Bureau. 2000. “Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics.” Retrieved April 1, 2018 (https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF).
- U.S. Census Bureau. 2010a. “American Community Survey, 2010–2014. Selected Economic Characteristics 5-Year Estimates.” Retrieved April 1, 2018 (https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF).
- U.S. Census Bureau. 2010b. “Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics.” Retrieved April 1, 2018 (https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF).
- Ulrich-Schad, Jessica D. and Hua Qin. 2017. “Culture Clash? Predictors of Views on Amenity-Led Development and Community Involvement in Rural Recreation Counties.” Rural Sociology 83(1): 81–108.
- Vias, Alexander C. and John I. Carruthers. 2005. “Regional Development and Land Use Change in the Rocky Mountain West, 1982–1997.” Growth and Change 36(2): 244–72.
- Williams, Raymond. 1975. The Country and the City. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
- Williams, Ted A. 1979. “Impact of Domestic Tourism on Host Population.” Tourism Recreation Research 4(2): 15–21.
10.1080/02508281.1979.11014981 Google Scholar
- Winkler, Richelle. 2013. “Living on Lakes Segregated Communities and Inequality in a Natural Amenity Destination.” The Sociological Quarterly 54(1): 105–29.
- Winkler, Richelle, Steven Deller, and Dave Marcouiller. 2015. “Recreational Housing and Community Development: A Triple Bottom Line Approach.” Growth and Change 46(3): 481–500.
- Woods, Michael. 2005. Rural Geography: Processes, Responses and Experiences in Rural Restructuring. London, UK: SAGE.
- Woods, Michael. 2010. Rural. Abingdon, UK: Taylor & Francis.
10.4324/9780203844304 Google Scholar
- Zukin, Sharon. 1995. The Cultures of Cities. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.