A new book examining the unique challenges and opportunities the human geography of remote places presents for policy formation, economic development and social outcomes will be launched this week.
Edited by Associate Professor Dean Carson and Andrew Taylor, from The Northern Institute at Charles Darwin University, and colleagues at the universities of Roskilde, Ottawa and Anchorage, “Demography at the Edge: Remote Human Populations in Developed Nations” is the culmination of three years of international collaborative research.
Senior Research Fellow with The Northern Institute Andrew Taylor said the book represented the tangible results of new and innovative ways of researching population change in the remote areas of developed nations and that a great deal of local intellect went into its development with around 11 Northern Territory authors contributing.
“Demography at the Edge is a product of international collaborative research with universities and other organisations to describe, model and articulate the human geography of places similar to the Northern Territory,” Mr Taylor said.
“By comparing and contrasting ourselves with the experiences of remote Canada, Alaska and countries in the Nordic Circle (such as Greenland), we find there is much to learn about how populations behave under the ever changing circumstances found beyond the periphery, perhaps even more so than by comparisons to elsewhere in Australia.”
Lead editor Dr Dean Carson said the book also covered contemporary issues and their relationships to population change.
“It discusses the implications for policy formation across many spheres including planning, housing, education, tourism, climate change with an emphasis on human populations as dynamic, adaptive and evolving systems that respond to changing environments in different ways.”
The launch will be followed by a discussion on the implications of the research for the NT. Guest speakers will include the Honourable Dr Gary Johns from the Public Policy Institute at the Australian Catholic University, Director of the Australian Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Education Associate Professor Terry Dunbar, and Dr Carson.
The launch will be held on Thursday, 12 May from 3pm at the Chan Contemporary Art Space, State Square, Darwin (opposite Parliament House). The panel discussion will be held from 3.30-4.30pm. To attend the launch, contact Katrina Britnell: katrina.britnell@cdu.edu.au.