Economics
Oil Bust Was Actually Good for a Town Called ‘Shale City’
- How one community is working to beat the boom and bust cycle
- Population fell with oil, but school kids and births increased
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
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As the price of oil goes, so goes Williston, North Dakota. Now, though, the community located deep in the state’s Bakken shale play is working to break free from the industry’s boom-and-bust cycles.
When oil sold for $100 a barrel, Williston -- one among many oil towns dotting the nation’s shale basins -- grew faster than its infrastructure and services could handle. There was a housing shortage, a too-small police force and endless traffic tie-ups.