Resource development and new towns : a women’s perspective
Creators: name: Langin, Susan Esther
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2010

description: In recent decades a large number of new single-industry resource towns have been professionally planned, designed, built and populated. In spite of improvements in the physical design and development of new resource communities, obtaining "the good life" in these communities is still very much in doubt, particularly for women. Little information on the women residents of single-industry resource towns - their needs, desires and aspirations - has been collected or analyzed. The purpose of this thesis' is to provide a clearer picture of what it means to be a women in a single-industry resource community. This study examines the quality of life in the most recent single-industry resource town in British Columbia, Elkford, as perceived and experienced by its women residents. It attempts to determine aspects of the community with which the women are most satisfied, aspects with which they are most dissatisfied, and recommends policies which are aimed at improving the future planning and development of resource-based communities with women's needs in mind. The methods for approaching the study included a review of the relevant literature on single-industry resource communities, as well as a mail questionnaire survey of the women in Elkford fifteen years of age and over. The data were collected and results presented under the following five broad subject areas: employment; housing; geographic and natural environment; socialization and perceptions of community life; and community services and facilities. The results of the survey indicate that, on the whole, the majority of women were satisfied with living in Elkford. Factors linked with community satisfaction include employment, satisfaction with dwelling unit, enjoyment of the natural wilderness setting and the recreation it affords, knowledge of "the state of the community" prior to moving, residency in the Kootenay Region prior to moving to Elkford, participation in community activities, and the ability to enjoy a small, new community. Factors which contribute to dissatisfaction include limited employment opportunities, limited desirable housing, limited community services and facilities (with the exception of recreation) for shopping, health care, education, transportation, communication and non-sports-oriented recreation, and the absence of a common informal meeting place. Recommendations for improving or influencing those factors which are related to satisfaction are suggested. They provide planners, resource companies, governments, and residents with guidelines for the provision of physical environments and delivery of social services in single-industry resource communities which respond to the needs of the women residents, and which are sensitive to the unique geographic, demographic and economic characteristics inherent in new resource communities. Women have a special role as resident experts of the quality of life in resource communities, and whose expertise should be incorporated into the planning, implementation and evaluation of these communities.