This thesis examines the problems of impermanence, isolation and external dependency of single resource mining communities (SRMCs) in British Columbia. It poses the question: can the problems of SRMCs be resolved within the parameters of our present planning/decision-making system? After an outline of the historical evolution and the specific problems of SRMCs identified in the Canadian literature, demonstrating the inherent impermanence of these communities, the study reviews relevent critical literature from the field of political economy. The reviewed literature suggests the significance of socially allocated indirect wages such as social services and infrastructure for the perception of quality of life by British Columbians, and in particular to the problems of isolation and dependency of SRMCs. Three groups of concerned actors " in SRMCs are identified: government, multinational extraction companies, and community residents. These actors' goals and resultant roles are determined from the literature and inter-actor conflict and alliances explored, along with their respective value positions and ideology. Liberal belief in the value of economic growth results in an alliance between government and organized capital. To facilitate provincial development in a competitive global economy, the provincial government tries to minimize extraction expenditures for the mining companies, attempting to provide low aggregate labour costs while still maintaining a politically stable environment. This government/corporate alliance results in lower than (provincial) average levels of indirect wages for residents of SRMCs. Furthermore, local self-determination is purposely limited. These conditions create many of the typical SRMC problems, leading to community dissatifaction and high turnover rates. A case study of the five-volume provincial Plan for Tumbler Ridge is then undertaken. It was found that the dominant goal of the plan is to create a community capable of attracting and maintaining a viable labour force at lowest government and corporate cost. Proposed levels of collective consumption are intentionally lower than in non-SRMCs and below provincial standards. Seventy percent of the repayment of the community's direct costs is allocated to Tumbler Ridge's future residents, even though the potential life span of the community could be as little as fifteen years. The proposed per capita municipal debt is over three times higher for Tumbler Ridge than the per capita debt of Vancouver. The planning document proposes specifically limiting local government self-determination in Tumbler Ridge to protect corporate rate payers, even though the ratio of residental to corporate municipal debt is similar to the ratio in Vancouver. The thesis concludes that a contradiction exists between the requirements of a stable community at the local level and those for attracting multinational corporate development at the provincial level. As a result SRMCs are inherently unstable. Resolution of SRMC problems does not appear likely within the constraints of our present decision-making system. Planners should acknowledge this reality and attempt to design implementable alternatives to the traditional SRMC. One efficent option may be the modern commuting work camp, allowing mine workers to live in a stable community when not at the work site. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

This thesis addresses the problem of resource town instability and focuses on resource settlement planning, assuming that a stable resource community is dependent on the settlement planning approach. The problem is addressed through the development of a new theoretical approach. It stems in part from a synthesis of the two dominant perspectives in the literature on resource towns --the "internal" and the "external" perspective. The internal perspective is expressed in the traditional resource settlement literature. Its goal is a stable labour supply to be attained by a focus on the physical and social attributes of the towns. This literature assumes a stable workforce stems from a stable community which can be achieved through physical and social planning applied at the community level. The external perspective is expressed by the critical resource settlement literature. Its goal is stable labour demand to be attained by a radical restructuring of the regional and provincial economy. The critical literature assumes that the long term stability of a resource community's employment base is dependent on fluctuating external markets over which the community has no control. The flaw of the internal perspective is its failure to address the need for long term stable labour demand. The external perspective is flawed by the absence of a policy prescription for settlement planning. The research methods comprise a review of the literature on planning theory, resource settlement planning and regional development. The proposed perspective is elaborated through a comparison of theoretical concepts with current British Columbia provincial policy as manifest in three recent applications; Elkford, Tumbler Ridge and Northwestern British Columbia. The result is a synthesis of the internal and external perspectives providing an alternative resource settlement planning approach which addresses resource community stability in the long as well as the short term. The salient points of the proposed resource settlement planning approach are-. • A territorial rather than a functional interpretation of regional development and settlement planning based on: - an internal regional focus for development which utilizes local social and economic goals; - a composite interpretation of the region, comprised of social, cultural, physical and economic dimensions; - a conservationist approach to resource use; and - a long run perspective in evaluating development. • The replacement of the goal of community stability by the goal of regional resilience. A resilient region is comprised of economically, socially and politically interlinked settlements which jointly serve the region's population; • A strategic planning process which employs bottom up representation involving local institutions and interest groups. The Elkford and Tumbler Ridge case studies indicate that the current provincial policy; 1. Relies on a strategic planning process, 2. attempts to move towards bottom up representation in implementing settlement plans and 3. is effective in creating short term community stability. But the current policy has not addressed long term stability. The territorial regional settlement planning approach developed in this thesis was tested for Northwest British Columbia. Suggested "ideal" planning actions for Northwest British Columbia are: • A shift in focus from examining settlement options which will best serve mining interests to an analysis of how mining can best serve regional development; • A development strategy which looks at alternative forms of development and the relationship between them and the mining proposals; • The use of the mine projects to encourage economic and social diversification in existing settlements in the southern part of the northwest region; • Greater use of local institutions and interest groups in the planning and implementation phase; and • The use of regionally based criteria in examining the settlement options. Given existing provincial resource settlement policies, two steps can be taken to move towards a territorial regional approach to resource settlement planning: 1. use and build upon existing settlement systems, and 2. use resource projects to foster regionally based economic diversification by planning ahead. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

The Problem Over the last few decades British Columbia has experienced an unprecedented wave of economic growth which has resulted in the creation of new towns such as Gold River, Houston, Hudson's Hope, Mackenzie, in the planned expansion of Port Hardy and Port McNeil, and in the rearrangement of other communities. The forest industry, by use of a sustained yield management system, has set examples of a stable town-building activity. It is the intention of this thesis to investigate the physical environment of two British Columbia forest-based towns, and in particular the visual, three-dimensional design resulting from resource development. The subject matter appears to be of Interest, at this moment in time, because of an acquired consciousness, by many, that the building of a new town is more than a practical method for providing a labour pool to the parent industry, indeed a technique for channeling and directing urban growth in a regional context. Method of Approach The study attempts to examine the resources of forest-based towns. The method adopted consists of drawing parallels between Gold River and Golden, selected as sample communities. These are considered representative of the provincial trend: creation of new towns, and reorganization of old towns. The study is based on information gathered through direct contact with the inhabitants. A questionnaire worked out by the U.B.C. Department of Community and Regional Planning for a student project during the year 1968 was used, and the factual information was gathered as background material for a discussion on the town-forms as observed. Four areas articulate the study: a) historical, b) factual, c) structural, and d) visual analysis. Town forms are discussed in relation to four primary elements which derive from a combination of a personal bias and of Kevin Lynch’s way of looking at cities. These elements are: Nodes, Routes, Districts and Prime Volumes. They are first separately compiled and then brought together in comparison. An appraisal involving R. Anaheim's category of order, Homogeneity, Coordination, Hierarchy and Accident, summarizes the observations. The method used relies on subjective perception and description of what can be called a "collective image" of resource towns. The Findings The historical analysis shows that both government and private enterprise have determined the present state of resource development and the physical form of the towns. The resource community shows clear signs of evolution, especially significant in the development of a planning attitude. The stages of this evolution are to be seen in the gradual changes of the resource town from tent-camp to the present planned instant-town. The analysis shows that the basic needs of community life, work, housing, and social facilities have not only been catered for, but are yet evolving. The main body of the thesis, consisting of the structural and visual analysis of the town, looks at the three-dimensional reality of the environments, and from this it is shown that the evolved towns possess many virtues which if understood could provide guidance in the building of new towns. The findings suggest that future implementations should consider the following as necessary premises to a more fulfilling town life: 1. The success of a new town must be closely associated with the harmonious interrelation between the natural and the man-made forms, between the land and the buildings. 2. Since growth of towns can only be predicted over relatively short time spans, the practice of clearing land should be restricted to phases of development. 3. The removal of natural features such as trees and land forms should be controlled by the citizens. 4. Zoning regulations should be released with the objective of creating greater mixtures of uses, as incentive to social needs. 5. The "gridiron," as an open geometric pattern, can provide for qualitative growth. The orthogonal scheme should be more closely investigated before being discarded as old and obsolete town design. Older towns, which mirror the needs and are an aesthetic expression of the community, provide an opportunity for developing from "within" a concept for new towns. The plea coming from many sources and urging experimentation and development of a Canadian model must focus its validity on the need for identity. Guidelines which take into consideration local heritage can be Instrumental in the creation of a Canadian new town concept. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate