Development of a sense of community in an instant town.

Currently, resource towns in British Columbia are facing changes and are dealing with the challenges of restructuring, diversification, and sustainability. In order to overcome these challenges, communities must demonstrate capacity: the ability to come together to overcome challenges and change. Community capacity depends on the development of social cohesion among other things. Social cohesion, in turn, is developed through interaction. However, interaction is structured by many factors including place and social characteristics, either of which can inhibit or encourage interaction. This presentation outlines work for my master\u27s thesis. Through a triangulated approach using focus groups and interviews, supplemented by GIS techniques, the research will identify the specific factors of place and identification that structure interaction and the development of a sense of community. With a better understanding of what encourages and prohibits interaction and the development of a sense of community, we can work to develop policies and plans that allow for the development of structures that encourage interaction and minimized those that inhibit it