Culture in the countryside: A study of economic development and social change in Prince Edward County, Ontario

This thesis examined strategies to use culture and cultural industries to promote economic development in Prince Edward County, Ontario. While the existing literature focuses on the role of culture and creative people as an engine of economic development in cities, my work explored these influences in a rural setting. In particular, I looked at the interplay between long-time residents of Prince Edward County and incoming tourists, weekend residents and retirees who have come from large cities. The goal was to investigate the relationship between cultural production and consumption and the County's recent economic development. As this recent economic development is being influenced by Richard Florida's creative class argument, my research also examined the transferability and effectiveness of urban economic development strategies in rural communities, as well as the existence of a distinctive 'rural' creative class in Prince Edward County.