The development of resources has always been one of the important factors of Canadian economy. As Canada's resource and industrial frontier extends further to the north, lasting and self-sufficient communities have become increasingly difficult to create. The first settlements were not permanent and the inhabitants' needs and demands were limited. With time needs and demands evolved and became more complex in nature. The evolution of such settlements from camps, through company towns, to incorporated towns can be traced in terms of these demands and needs. Instant resource towns, unlike, camps or company towns, are the result of a rather complicated planning process. The goal formulation of this process is much more complex, involving many external factors. Goal specification, especially where explicit goals are concerned, becomes not only a function of the criteria set, or the needs of the inhabitants, but also of the different needs and interests of each of the individual planning and policy making bodies. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the process involved in the creation of Gold River, an instant town. The planning and building processes will be examined in order to determine the discrepancies between the goals specified, both, explicit and implicit, in the planning process and the final product. The aim of the study is, therefore, to analyse the different circumstances and factors that lead to the creation of Gold River and the philosophy of the different people who contributed to it. The planning process, concerned specifically with Gold River, is analysed. An attempt is made to differenciate between the different explicit and implicit goals of each of the individual planning bodies involved. Through the analysis of this process, both, positive and negative results are studied. The method of study consists of a comparison of goals expressed in the planning process, by the different bodies interested, with the results achieved. Such comparison will allow the author to determine to what extent some of the goals have been achieved and will show how the performance of the physical environment relates to the expectations. The study is based on the results of a questionnaire gathered on a field trip to the town. The goals of the different planning bodies were determined by interviewing the parties concerned and by analysing published pamphlets concerning Gold River development. The study also describes Gold River in its different aspects as the author saw it from direct observation and from information obtained from other sources. Furthermore, an evaluation of the physical, economic and social aspects of the town in terms of user satisfaction or dissatisfaction was derived from the questionnaire. The analysis and evaluation of achievements reveals some of the causes of user dissatisfaction, high population turnover and instability to be inherent in the planning process. Achievements are considered from the point of view of both: the different planning bodies and the inhabitants. The conclusions support the hypotheses that: - Discrepancies between the inhabitants' expectations of the town and the actual reality have profound social implications. - Goal misinterpretation and partial realization is due to lack of communication between the different bodies involved in the planning process. - In the planning process goals should be expressed explicitly and clearly. The study has also shown that the problem of isolation, lack of diversity, population turnover and, lack of growth, which plagued resource towns in the past, still are major problems in the incorporated, ultramodern, instant town of Gold River. This indicates that in the planning for such towns: - The size and density of the community should be taken into consideration. - Growth and diversification of industries, as factors necessary to make a place lasting and livable, should be kept in mind. - It should be emphasized that the stability of a community is a function of the population turnover. - It is necessary to provide for substantial recreational facilities. The phenomenon of Instant towns is a recent innovation in this province and should be better understood and thus improved. This study is an attempt to contribute to a better understanding of the factors involved in the creation of such a town and therefore may be instrumental in the creation of other, better towns. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate

New towns is the form of settlement replacing camps and company towns in the resource areas of Canada. Resource companies, still requiring Skilled workers living near the site of its development, are planning and building towns which are incorporated soon after completion. This feature distinguishing new towns from company towns and camps is intended to alleviate the resource company of direct responsibility to the town and its residents. The economic mainstay of the town, though, is still the resource company's operation. Very broadiy, this thesis seeks to discover who is responsible for the development of new towns in resource areas and what programmes they are undertaking. It is important that the large social and financial investments in these new towns not be left to the vagaries of the single resource market, the economic base of the town. Specifically, this thesis examines Gold River, a forest-based new town in British Columbia. Rather than generalizing the findings of this study, this thesis is indicating a method by which such communities can be studied and compared in order to make general statements concerning the growth and development of new towns. By examining the role and relative impact of organizations on the development of the town and by examining the values of the residents through their objectives for their town, it is possible to relate societal values to the direction of development. The British Columbia government has two objectives in the development of its forest resource. One ensures the perpetual yield of the resource through strictly enforced management policies. And the second seeks the perpetuation of prosperous communities for which no policies have been made to ensure its fulfillment. Even though the town is incorporated, the Council tends to be inexperienced. Therefore, with no counterbalancing force, it is hypothesized that, the policy of the resource company will continue to actively determine the future development of the town. To test the hypothesis, the author gleaned the policies of the resource company by examining its activity in the town. Finding little to substantiate the hypothesis the author examined the role and impact of other organizations. The residents are adamant that the responsibility for the future development of the town rest on themselves. The Council, and to a lesser extent, the Chamber of Commerce, are active in promoting new activity in their town. The residents see the development of their town into a more viable and varied community, in terms of the development and growth of the region. Even though there exists a social fabric receptive to further development, the power and the control over the use of the region rests principally with the forest company and the initiative for further development of the region rests with the Provincial Government. If a general statement could be made from this study it would be that, the further development and growth of single enterprise resource-based new towns is an integral part of regional planning and resource development. / 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