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ARTICLES

‘The good old days’: In-migration, social control and the decline of the ‘imagined’ community in a north Wales market town

Pages 19-36 | Published online: 12 Feb 2008
 

Abstract

Rural communities across Britain are witnessing local level social, political and economic developments within the broader context of a general contemporary restructuring of the countryside. Changes such as in-migration, a loss of young people in search of employment, a declining agricultural economy and the closure of public services act to question long-standing ideas of the countryside that encompass a lifestyle bound up with community and belonging. It seems then that the traditional community is disappearing in the face of modernity. However, this paper argues that the traditional community was held up as an important reference point in a north Wales market town when faced with social change. As a response to the issue of in-migration local people constructed their version of what can be termed an imagined traditional community. What is clear from the research is that even in a symbolic sense, this imaginary dimension of community was still a powerful determinant in shaping perceptions and motivating actions at the local level.

Las comunidades rurales por toda la Gran Bretaña se encuentran ante la presencia de un desarrollo social, político y económico a nivel local dentro de un contexto más amplio de la reestructuración contemporánea general del campo. Cambios como por ejemplo en inmigración, perdida de la fuerza laboral joven en busca de empleo, una economía agrocultural en declinación y el cierre de los servicios públicos, traen la interrogante sobre ideas antiguas de cómo tendría que ser un campo que incluya el estilo de vida acordes con su sentido de comunidad y pertenencia. Al parecer pues que la comunidad tradicional está desapareciendo ante la cara de la modernidad. Sin embargo, este artículo rebate que la comunidad tradicional se utilizó como ejemplo y punto de referencia muy importantes en una cuidad de mercado al Norte de Gales, cuando debieron enfrentar cambios sociales. Como respuesta a la problemática de inmigración, construyeron su versión de lo que se podría llamar una comunidad tradicional imaginaria. Lo que queda claro de ésta investigación es que aunque con un sentido simbólico, la dimensión imaginaria de comunidad se mantuvo como punto poderoso determinante en la formación de percepciones y en la motivación de acciones al nivel local.

Notes

1. All names used are pseudonyms.

2. Employment is another factor and local people may move to another area in search of work, leaving local homes vacant. In-migrants moving into the area may have different priorities, for example, moving in to retire rather than looking for employment.

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