Focus and Scope

The Small Cities Community-University Research Alliance (CURA), supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, publishes conference and workshop proceedings, peer-reviewed collections, monographs, occasional papers, and works of creative inquiry emerging from the Mapping Quality of Life and the Culture of Small Cities research program. All CURA researchers, community partners, and those participating in CURA-sponsored events or projects may propose a publication project to the Small Cities Imprint.

Canada’s urban areas are currently facing serious economic, social, cultural, and environmental challenges. This is especially true for smaller cities, which have for many years depended upon mining, agriculture, manufacturing and industry to sustain their growth. On the one hand, many of these cities are now experiencing stagnant or declining population bases; they are struggling to chart new directions for the future. On the other hand, a number of western Canadian small cities are experiencing unprecedented growth fueled by out-migration from larger metropolitan centres.

We maintain that smaller cities occupy what many observers have identified as a cultural “third space,” positioned as they are in the shadow of large cosmopolitan cities but still bound by rural history and traditions. Understanding this space requires us to address people’s experiences and perceptions: to gather information on what long-term residents and newcomers feel about themselves and their communities.

Publication Frequency

Small Cities Imprint publishes work as it emerges from the CURA project.

Open Access Policy

Small Cities Imprint provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

About The Small Cities CURA

The Small Cities Imprint is a publication initiative of The Small Cities Community-University Research Alliance (CURA), supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The Imprint publishes conference and workshop proceedings, peer-reviewed collections, monographs, occasional papers, and works of creative inquiry emerging from the Mapping Quality of Life and the Culture of Small Cities research program. Small Cities CURA Researchers, Community Researchers and Partners, and those participating in CURA-sponsored events or projects are welcome to propose publication projects.