Natural landscapes and digitalities: Individual and community resilience and wellbeing in rural communities on Vancouver Island during COVID‐19

Le résumé fourni par la source

Abstract Rural and coastal communities faced unique challenges during the COVID‐19 pandemic, such as reduced access to healthcare, digital infrastructure, and socio‐economic resources. Recent research has examined how digital connectivity shapes individual and community resilience and wellbeing during crises, particularly in contexts of social restriction and disruption. This qualitative health geographical study expands on these efforts by exploring the lived experiences of residents in rural and coastal communities on northern Vancouver Island during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Leveraging an interpretative phenomenological approach, we conducted semi‐structured interviews to explore the placiality of personal and community meanings, with particular attention to place‐based resources and everyday digital practices. Key findings emphasize the therapeutic role of rural spaces—especially green and blue landscapes—promoting resilience and wellbeing. The findings show that digital tools operated as important but limited mediators of social connection and support, facilitating coping practices while also revealing the constraints and inequalities in digitally mediated connection. This study enhances understanding of how rural communities navigate crises by synthesizing the role of therapeutic landscapes with ambivalent functions of digitalities, offering a holistic perspective on rural resilience that balances environmental affordances with social and technological dimensions.

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