Mode of Program Participation
Academic Scholarship
Participation Type
Poster
Presentation #1 Title
Hotels as "man camps": Drilling in northern Appalachia
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Southwestern Pennsylvania lies atop the Marcellus Shale, a rock formation that generated a well-documented gas and oil drilling boom post 2005. This energy boom brought a transient workforce, creating social pressures, including a high demand for available housing. The lack of available housing in very rural areas in the northern sub-region, placed pressure on the industry to develop formal “man camps.” In southwestern Pennsylvania, hotels and motels have been documented by state-wide studies and hospitality industry publications as default “man camps” for the initial surge of incoming workings. Campgrounds have also tempered the impact on the housing market. Government sponsored university research as well as news coverage has reported that the heavy use of hotels and motels for gas workers created a shortage of emergency housing sites for individuals and families experiencing housing crises (such as fires and economic displacement). Increased construction of new and expanded hotels has also raised questions about the future use of these facilities. This poster presents publicly available data on the intensity of drilling activity in this area for the period 2005 – 2012 that has been documented by the Fractracker Alliance. It also presents business census data and literature on the concomitant hospitality industry boom. Intended and unintended consequences of boomtown development on community development and housing in northern Appalachia are discussed. Findings from southwestern Pennsylvania may help local residents and planners throughout the Appalachian region prepare for these impacts as oil and gas activity intensifies.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Pamela Twiss holds a PhD in Social Work and an MSW from the University of Pittsburgh. She is a professor in the Department of Social Work at California University of Pennsylvania and co-facilitates the Northern Appalachian Network.
Hotels as "man camps": Drilling in northern Appalachia
Southwestern Pennsylvania lies atop the Marcellus Shale, a rock formation that generated a well-documented gas and oil drilling boom post 2005. This energy boom brought a transient workforce, creating social pressures, including a high demand for available housing. The lack of available housing in very rural areas in the northern sub-region, placed pressure on the industry to develop formal “man camps.” In southwestern Pennsylvania, hotels and motels have been documented by state-wide studies and hospitality industry publications as default “man camps” for the initial surge of incoming workings. Campgrounds have also tempered the impact on the housing market. Government sponsored university research as well as news coverage has reported that the heavy use of hotels and motels for gas workers created a shortage of emergency housing sites for individuals and families experiencing housing crises (such as fires and economic displacement). Increased construction of new and expanded hotels has also raised questions about the future use of these facilities. This poster presents publicly available data on the intensity of drilling activity in this area for the period 2005 – 2012 that has been documented by the Fractracker Alliance. It also presents business census data and literature on the concomitant hospitality industry boom. Intended and unintended consequences of boomtown development on community development and housing in northern Appalachia are discussed. Findings from southwestern Pennsylvania may help local residents and planners throughout the Appalachian region prepare for these impacts as oil and gas activity intensifies.
