Sense of Community

Desired Future

Rossland is a safe, inclusive and welcoming community with a high level of social cohesion amongst a diversity of ages, cultures and lifestyles. The level of volunteerism is high and most year-round residents are engaged in governance and community development initiatives. Arts and cultural expression thrive in Rossland and are supported by both residents and visitors. Rossland’s natural environment and its heritage create a sense of place and an authentic small town charm that is unique to the region. It is this uniqueness that fosters pride and community spirit that serves to retain residents and to attract new residents and visitors.

End-State Goals

End-state Goal 1: A diversity of people (ages, ethnicities, cultures, and lifestyles), visitors and non-permanent residents are welcomed and integrated into the community.

End-state Goal 2: Residents of all ages are engaged in the town’s arts and cultural activities and offerings, and actively participate in community groups and celebrations of community spirit.

End-state Goal 3: The authenticity and small town character and feel are maintained.

End-state Goal 4: Public amenities, including open spaces, schools, and facilities, are designed and operated in ways that provide residents of all ages with safe and convenient spaces for social, artistic and cultural expression and activity.

End-state Goal 5: A cross-section of historic buildings, monuments, and natural features are preserved in ways that maintain and promote Rossland’s heritage and unique ‘sense of place’.

 

Crime Rates (SC-1)

Number of crimes committed per 1000 persons
in Rossland in 2008 and 2009

What are we measuring?

The number of reported violent and property crimes for every 1,000 people

Why are we measuring it?

Crime rates provide an indication of how safe Rossland is a community and directly reflect the priority of safety as stated in the Desired Future for Sense of Community. This indicator only includes crimes reported by, or to, the police.

How are we doing?

Between 2008 and 2009, all forms of reported crime in Rossland declined, with Total Crimes decreasing by approximately 5 reported incidents per 1,000 residents.

Data Sources  

City of Rossland and Trail RCMP

 

Volunteerism (SC-2) (Repeat of IC-2)

Number of Volunteer Organizations or Associations
in which Individual is an Active Participant in 2011

What are we measuring?

Community members’ self-reported number of volunteer organizations or associations they participate in as an active member, including school groups, church social groups, community centres, ethnic associations or social, civic or fraternal clubs and number of times per year they volunteer.

Why are we measuring it?

This indicator in part reflects movement towards End-state Goal #2 in which community members actively participate in community groups and cultural activities.  This indicator a repeat of an indicator in Intergenerational Care and Learning (IC-2) as it also relates to the End-state Goals in that Focus Area.

How are we doing?

Most people in Rossland volunteer. The survey results show that 84% of Rosslanders participate in at least one volunteer organization or association, 62% participate in at least 2 or more and 35% participate in at least 3 or more. This compares well to other communities, such as Fernie, where 70% of people volunteer.

Except in the 45 to 54 age category, women uniformly volunteer more than men, with 90% of women offering their time to at least one organization while only 80% of men do so.  Volunteering is fairly consistent across age groups with peaks in the percentage of people who volunteer in the 45 to 54 age category and the 65 and up age category, particularly those that volunteer for more than one organization.  The non-volunteers (16% of Rosslanders) are spread fairly evenly across age categories, except in the 45 to 54 age group, in which only 5% of individuals do not volunteer.

In examining the number of times a year that individuals volunteer, the largest number of respondents, 30%, volunteer once a month while 22% volunteer once a week and 19% four times a year.  Women volunteer on a more frequent basis than men.  The number of times people volunteer a year is fairly stable across the age categories.  Individuals in the 15 and 24 and the 25 to 34 age groups are more likely to volunteer at least once a week, while those 45 and over are more likely to volunteer once a month.

This is baseline data.  In future iterations of the State of Rossland report in which a survey is undertaken we should be able to report on trends for this indicator.

Data Sources  

State of Rossland Survey

 

Cultural Opportunities Participation (SC-3)

What are we measuring?

The number of live acts and arts events, and the level of attendance as reported by the Rossland Council for Arts and Culture (RCAC) and the City of Rossland

Why are we measuring it?

Arts and cultural opportunities and participation rates have been identified as a key factor in Rossland’s ongoing sustainability.  End-state Goal #2 establishes the goal that residents of all ages are engaged in the town’s arts and cultural activities and offerings, and actively participate in community groups and celebrations of community spirit.

How are we doing?

Currently, Rossland has only estimated baseline data for this indicator. RCAC will work with Visions to Action to track this indicator in future. RCAC hosts approximately 10 monthly coffee houses per year with approximately 80 attendees at each event. These coffee houses host a range of local performers. The Council also hosts 3 to 5 performances per year. From September 2008 to June 2009, attendance averaged approximately 130 people at each performance. From September 2009 to June 2010, attendance declined to approximately 85 average attendees at each performance.
 
In 2010, the Miners Hall - a major venue for cultural events - was rented for cultural events for the following number of hours:
  • Gold Fever Follies (practices and performances) - 581 Hours
  • Arts Council and Rotary - 66 Hours
  • Private Rentals for Theatre, Bands and other performances - 451 Hours
  • TOTAL - 1,098 Hours

Data Sources  

Rossland Council for Arts and Culture

City of Rossland

 

Sense of Community (SC-4)

Sense of Community in Rossland in 2011

What are we measuring?

An index of Rossland’s sense of community based on a series of survey questions regarding Rosslander’s sense of community, pride in Rossland, participation in Rossland events and sense of belonging in Rossland. The index utilized was based on the sense of community index utilized in the cities of Canmore and Calgary.

Why are we measuring it?

This indicator broadly attempts to measure the movement towards the Desired Future for the Sense of Community Focus Area and all of the Sense of Community End-state Goals. It focuses most on community members’ sense of the inclusivity and cohesion of Rossland, as well as their sense of community spirit and pride.

How are we doing?

The survey results indicate that 89% of Rossland residents agree completely (63%) or somewhat (26%) that there is a sense of community in Rossland. These results compare favourably to other communities. For example, 70% of Canmore residents agreed completely or somewhat that there is a sense of community in Canmore, and 95% of Fernie residents agreed completely or somewhat that there is a sense of community in Fernie.

Rossland residents also expressed a strong sense of community pride, satisfaction and belonging in Rossland. According to the survey, 93% of Rosslanders are proud to tell others where they live when they travel, 90% of Rosslanders feel they belong in Rossland, 91% of Rosslanders attend events and activities in Rossland and 94% of residents like living in Rossland.

The component of sense of community with the lowest score was with respect to whether it would take a lot for people to move from Rossland. Although this component still scored well, with 79% of respondents agreeing completely or somewhat that it would take them a lot to move from Rossland, at least 21% of respondents would consider moving. High property taxes and lack of seniors housing were common themes identified for considering a move from Rossland.  

The overall results were very positive, and many individuals emphasized that they love living in Rossland and feel a strong sense of connection to other Rossland residents. However, there were individuals who expressed dissatisfaction with Rossland’s sense of community, feeling that Rossland can be cliquey, does not do enough to engage seniors and youth, has changed into a resort town, and does not work well with other communities in the region. Only a small percentage of respondents raised these concerns. Nevertheless, they identify potential areas of work to improve Rossland’s overall sense of community.

There were some notable differences based on age and gender in the sense of community results. Across the board, women were much more likely to express strong agreement with all six of the components of sense of community with the exception of expressing pride in Rossland while they travel. In particular, women were substantially more likely to attend Rossland events and prefer to remain living in Rossland.

Satisfaction with living in Rossland, sense of community and expressing pride in Rossland while travelling all decline with age, but sense of belonging increases. Event attendance and inclination to move remain stable throughout the age groups.

 

Sense of Community Component Agree Completely Agree Somewhat Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Somewhat Disagree completely
There is a strong sense of community in Rossland 63% 26% 4% 5% 1%
I feel very much like I belong in Rossland 66% 23% 5% 4% 0%
I like living in Rossland 81% 13% 2% 3% 0%
When I travel I am proud to tell others where I live 84% 9% 5% 1% 0%
I attend community events and activities in Rossland 52% 39% 6% 2% 0%
It would take a lot for me to move from Rossland 50% 28%

10%

6%

6%

Sense of Community component scores in Rossland in 2011

Sense of Community by Age Group in 2011

Data Sources  

State of Rossland Survey