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It Is Home: Perceptions, Community, and Narratives about Change

Author

Listed:
  • Michael R. Cope

    (Department of Sociology, Brigham Young University, 2008 JFSB, Provo, UT 84602, USA)

  • Haylie M. June

    (Department of Sociology, Brigham Young University, 2008 JFSB, Provo, UT 84602, USA)

  • Scott R. Sanders

    (Department of Sociology, Brigham Young University, 2008 JFSB, Provo, UT 84602, USA)

  • Greta L. Asay

    (Department of Sociology, Brigham Young University, 2008 JFSB, Provo, UT 84602, USA)

  • Hannah Z. Hendricks

    (Department of Sociology, Brigham Young University, 2008 JFSB, Provo, UT 84602, USA)

  • Elizabeth Long-Meek

    (Department of Sociology, Brigham Young University, 2008 JFSB, Provo, UT 84602, USA)

  • Carol Ward

    (Department of Sociology, Brigham Young University, 2008 JFSB, Provo, UT 84602, USA)

Abstract

Utah’s Heber Valley has experienced rapid and (relatively) sustained growth since the 1990s, in part due to being chosen as a host venue for the 2002 Winter Olympics. As conditions in the Valley changed by virtue of this growth, individuals had to redefine their relationship with their community at large, as well as what community means to them individually. As individuals integrate new conditions into their imagined communities, they are also required to imagine communities in ways they never have before. The community’s story is rewritten simultaneously along with individuals’ own stories. These changing stories are shaped and indicated by the reconstruction of residents’ narratives about their community, i.e., their community stories. In this paper, we (1) explore how Heber Valley residents’ narratives change as a result of preparing for, participating in, and recovering from the Olympics, (2) verify these findings using survey data gathered during the same time period, and (3) examine how changes in residents’ narratives in Heber Valley impacted the subjective evaluation of community. To do so, we rely on longitudinal data gathered among principal communities in Heber Valley with additional data generated from a hermeneutic content analysis of archival data found in the area’s community newspaper ( The Wasatch Wave ). Survey data were gathered once a year over a five-year period from February 1999 through February 2003, with additional waves gathered in February 2007, 2012, and 2018. Our results indicated that the community narratives did change as a result of the Olympics, our survey data verified these community changes over time, and changes in residents’ community stories impacted survey responses when residents were asked about community sentiments.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael R. Cope & Haylie M. June & Scott R. Sanders & Greta L. Asay & Hannah Z. Hendricks & Elizabeth Long-Meek & Carol Ward, 2023. "It Is Home: Perceptions, Community, and Narratives about Change," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:12:y:2023:i:2:p:81-:d:1056169
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael R. Cope & Scott R. Sanders & Carol Ward & Kirk D. Young & Haylie M. June, 2021. "In the Shadow of the Mountain: A Socio-Historical Case Study on Rapid Population Growth in Two Neighboring Population Centers in the Western United States," Societies, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, January.
    2. Matthew R. Colling & Josh Stovall & Jeremy Flaherty & Michael R. Cope & Ralph B. Brown, 2017. "From mass consumer society to a society of consumers: Consumption and the experience of community in late modernity," Community Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(4), pages 460-482, August.
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