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A community impact study of coal development in northeast British Columbia

University of British Columbia

The northeast coal sector of the British Columbia economy may be the first comprehensively planned resource development in this province. If development proceeds, it will mark the first time government has taken the lead in planning townsite and community development, transportation, manpower and other key elements. The implications of coal development for existing communities within the region could be immense. The purpose of this thesis is to determine the likely effects of coal development and to anticipate the level of change that can be expected to take place in the communities of the region. Because there is a wide range of development possibilities, the method chosen to estimate the effects utilizes scenarios ranging from minimal development to full development. For each scenario projections of selected variables are compared to the baseline situation - a projection of the same variables in the absence of coal development. Each scenario is described in terms of the geographic distribution of impacts and corresponding demand for services to be provided in each community. The capacity of the communities to accommodate the predicted magnitude of change is evaluated and the impact on the region as a whole is examined. Coal development has the potential to benefit the impacted communities, the region, and the provincial and federal governments as well as private sector interests. However, this is contingent upon a competent planning process that can balance economic, social, environmental and political concerns.

Text

2010-02-26

For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/21035

Planning

University of British Columbia

Graduate