“Cyclonic Capitalist Development” in Uranium City, Saskatchewan: A Counter-visual Analysis

Abstract

This paper reflects on what happens with “purpose-built towns” and their residents when industries withdraw, leaving behind economic strain and environmental contamination. It also examines the challenges encountered in studying such issues, drawing on observations, interviews, and photographs taken at decommissioned war industry sites, including Nitro (West Virginia), Mercury (Nevada), and Uranium City (Saskatchewan), the focus of this paper. Engaging with the literature on the limits of visual methods in justice research, this paper argues that there is something about place that eludes visual methods, especially photography. This aspect of this paper’s argument is consistent with counter-visual analysis, which is used to examine remnants of “cyclonic capitalist development” and the marred landscape and lives left behind in Uranium City. This paper concludes by reflecting on the relationship between visual studies and debates about social and environmental justice.