This study examines the residential subdivision of land in rural areas within the context of Community Planning Area Number 14 in the Regional District of Comox-Strathcona, British Columbia. Two separate elements comprise the major portion of the study. Interviews with a select sample of developers who practise within the Community Planning Area provide information about the extent and practise of residential land development in the study area. The interview schedule is designed to elicit both facts and opinions. The analysis of these interviews supplies the necessary background for the study. A random sample of residential subdivisions provides the basis for subdivision case studies. Each sample subdivision is subjected to a physical evaluation in terms of commonly accepted planning standards and principles for location and design. The extent to which the sample subdivisions meet the needs of the residents is discovered through interviews with the residents. These interviews are designed to elicit facts, opinions and levels of satisfaction pertaining to the subdivisions. The background to the problem and the methodology of the study are described. Concepts of residential subdivision location and design are discussed. The results of the comparative physical evaluation of the sample subdivisions and the results of the interviews with residents are also discussed. Conclusions are made about the location and design of the subdivisions and about the level of satisfaction which the residents express. It is shown in the study that "rural area residential subdivisions" in Community Planning Area Number 14 do not conform with accepted planning standards and principles. However, it is also shown that the needs of residents who have chosen to live in these subdivisions are satisfied despite those deficiencies. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate