British Columbia in a Global Context Chapter 1 Urban Settlement in British Columbia

. URBAN SETTLEMENT IN BRITISH COLUMBIA Learning Objectives . Discuss and describe the trajectory of urban development in British Columbia . Analyze how cities fit into the concept of a relational sense of place . Develop a systems thinking understanding of cities , their people and the environment . Urban Settlement in British Columbia

Introduction This chapter focuses on understanding the role and processes of urbanization in the context of . In particular , it emphasizes recent understandings of urban sustainability and urban systems thinking . The primary goal , on finishing this chapter , is to have an understanding of the relationality and territoriality of cities that is , understanding how cities exist in what geographer Doreen calls a global sense of This will connect with the second goal of the chapter , which is to understand how cities are related to other places , and how cities are at the same time unique places . The concept of a global sense of place has three characteristics . Places have multiple identities and meanings . The meaning is dependent on the people who are experiencing a place . Places are more than physical locations they are made up of processes . Places are not static , they are ongoing and ever changing because of relationships to other places . A global sense of place means viewing every city as globalized or worldly precisely because of its relationship to other places , and the mobile processes that are ongoing in places . Likewise , a global sense of place means that the territoriality , or what makes a place unique , can be understood because other places are different . Cities A city , in its most basic sense , is a constellation of people and social , political and economic institutions and infrastructures within a physical location . While there is usually no population or configuration for most cities , they are nevertheless understood to be discrete locations that are governed by political institutions ( a municipal government with a mayor and city council ) and city governments have the power to make laws and collect taxes from the people and businesses that inhabit it . Cities of course , do not exist in isolation from other places . They are connected to places near and far , to other cities and to rural communities and landscapes . Cities are created through processes of urbanization , which combine various , political , technological , and environmental processes that affect the way that cities are made up and how people live in them . In British Columbia in 2011 , there were 49 municipalities designated as cities , with an average population of ( Census data ) The current ( 2014 ) total population of is , and of those people live in cities . With more and more people moving to to cities within the province , we can ascertain that is undergoing a process of urbanization . Introduction

British Columbia population urban and rural ( i Url ' i Population Veer Figure Graph of population from . Processes that make up cities Some of the processes that make up cities and contribute to this global sense of place are economic change , demographic change , political change , sociocultural change , technological change and environmental change . As well , local histories and physical landscapes contribute to the uniqueness and differences in cities . Economic changes are often dynamic and exist on many scales . An economic change may be , for example , the shift from a economy to one of trade or , in contemporary society , a shift in the form of capitalist accumulation . Cities , as sites of resource agglomeration , are key actors within the network of global economic activity . Cities gather , regulate , produce and redistribute capital in the form of physical resources , money and human labour . As well , cities have their own regional and local economies that are connected to broader economic flows . Within cities , as well as among cities , capital is unevenly distributed between people , which causes shifting demographic , political and sociocultural changes . Demographic changes , such as the size , composition and speed of change profoundly affect urban landscapes . For example , in 2011 , the city of Surrey was the fastest growing city in Canada . With its large and growing East Asian population , it is also emerging as a multicultural hub within the province , and at the same time it is a place characterized by a growing local economy and a mild climate , placing it as an affordable alternative to Vancouver or Victoria . Political change at various scales ( international , federal , provincial and municipal ) also has important effects on cities . Governments have the power to levy taxes and to redistribute resources . They make laws that regulate everything from environmental and economic activity to managing migration . Shifts in political agendas can mean the difference between securing funding for a local health authority versus public transit in the region . Introduction

Sociocultural changes affect everything from architectural style to the kinds of amenities that are provided in cities . For example , is known for its natural beauty , so cities often highlight local access to outdoor activities such as hiking , skiing or cycling . Sociocultural change is broader than physical attributes , however . Behaviour toward minority groups has also altered drastically within cities over the years . For example , from 1859 to 1923 , Canada levied the Chinese head tax , a fee charged to each Chinese person entering Canada . It was abolished in 1923 by the Chinese Immigration Act , which prohibited immigration from China to Canada . Many years later , in 2006 , the federal government offered an official apology and financial remuneration to survivors and their spouses who paid the head tax . Figure 12 . Residential schoolchildren . Paul Indian Industrial School , 1901 Another example of changing attitudes is evident in the story of the Indian residential school system , which was in place from the until 1996 . During much of that time , Aboriginal children were required to attend and schools under an ideology of assimilation . There was widespread physical , sexual and mental abuse within the schools , which also separated Aboriginal children from their families and their land . The increasing urbanization of Aboriginal people in and in Canada is also attributed to the residential school system . In 2008 , the federal government apologized for how Aboriginal people were treated under the system . Technological changes affect the physical environment and how people live in cities . Economic innovation is often precipitated by technological change . For example , the development of the steam engine was strong enough to power a railway across much of North America . Today , advances in telecommunications and wireless networks allow people in cities to carry devices that allow mobile Internet access . Cities have also become tech hubs , providing jobs to local economies . For example , Vancouver is the home to and Electronic Arts Entertainment . Environmental changes that affect cities tie into broad networks . For example , air pollution and water quality can not be governed or contained at the local level they require management . Increasing emissions not . Electronic Arts Entertainment ca Introduction

only raise local health risks in cities , causing higher rates of asthma and other respiratory illness , but also contribute to global climate change . Understanding the interrelationship of these various urbanization processes helps us to understand the dynamic role of cities . Figure Graph of population from . British Columbia population , urban and rural ( by Arthur Gill Green . Adapted from Population urban and rural province and ( British Columbia ) Statistics Canada . Figure Residential schoolchildren . Indian Industrial School , 1901 is in the Public Domain Retrieved from wiki Canadian Indian residential school ) Introduction

Urbanization in British Columbia The place we call British Columbia was settled approximately years ago by people migrating from Eastern Asia across the Bering Strait . Permanent settlements by First Nations in are commonly dated to around years ago . These places served as anchors for agriculture and as trade routes along the coast and the rivers reaching further east . This process of urbanization contributed to the formation of complex societies that have existed in ever since . In the early century , First Nations societies living in made contact with Spanish and British explorers . It is unknown precisely how many First Nations were living within the territory at the time of contact , but estimates range from to , indicating large social groups living throughout the region . With the coming of British settlers , so too came processes of and displacement . This happened most directly through the creation of the reserve system , the enactment of the British North American Act ( 1867 ) and the Indian Act ( 1876 ) processes of settlement , and British occupation that signaled the beginning of colonial dominance in the region . The Colonial City A colonial city is a settlement either mapped onto an existing settlement or created to establish economic and military dominance in a colony . The function of the colonial city was to centralize and regulate trade for export back to home countries in England and western Europe , and to expand colonial power over the land . Victoria was established as a trading and military post on the southern tip of Vancouver Island in 1841 . It became the first colonial city in British Columbia to secure British dominance over the Spanish and First Nations in the region . It was established on land settled by the First Nation and grew to be a lively urban settlement and a strategic military site . On the mainland , New Westminster and Vancouver were settled by the British in order to establish both a capital of the colony of British Columbia ( in the case of New Westminster , 1859 ) and a new economic centre along the Inlet ( in the case of Vancouver , 1862 ) Forestry , trapping and fishing were the main economic drivers of these new colonial settlements however , it was the discovery of gold in and the lower River that led to rapid urbanization in 1858 . Cultural Composition and Trade Activities Colonial trade activities shaped the landscape of over the next 200 years . Throughout this time the cultural composition of Canadian cities was changing through various waves of immigration . Chinese workers came to to build the Canadian Pacific Railway , and then settled throughout the province in designated neighbourhoods . The establishment of in , as elsewhere in the world , reflected the View that as visible minorities , the Chinese were inferior and should therefore live apart . What is now the Chinatown in North America was established in Victoria . Other arose in Vancouver , Richmond , New Westminster , and . There was also significant Chinese settlement in , Boston Bar , Rock Creek , Granite Creek and ( Wild Horse Creek ) As you can see in Figure , has always been home to significant percentages Urbanization in British Columbia

of immigrants to Canada . Other immigrant groups to British Columbia throughout the past 200 years include Indian , East Asian , Italian , Japanese , and German peoples . am 379 . 76 73 11 sear . 45 I 13 14 13 13 14 151 I Share of Immigrants of 89 Figure Immigrants residing in Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area as a percentage of and British Columbia immigrant population , by period of immigration , 2001 Railway and Urban Growth In 1871 , British Columbia joined the Canadian Confederation over fears of US annexation , and with the promise that the railway would be extended west . With the construction of the railway came a second wave of immigration to the area . According to census data , the population of doubled between 1881 , when the railway was finished , and 1891 . Resource extraction activities , including mining , fishing and forestry , continued during this time , ensuring a steady economy for people moving to the province . At the beginning of the century , urbanization in was focused toward the east , with communities such as and gaining population . The railway remained a key route for transporting people and goods across the province during the Great Depression of the , which saw outward migration from urban centres , throughout World War II and the rise in shipbuilding in the Inlet , and during the postwar economic boom of the and up through the . Rapid growth throughout the province was precipitated by large multinational firms interested in expanding the forestry industry , with pulp and paper mills being built in places such as Prince George , Gold River , and . During this time the provincial government was also involved in several infrastructure expansion projects . The establishment in 1960 of Ferries led to the rapid expansion of the water transport within the province . Airport expansion and road upgrades also transformed the connections between cities . The rapid advances of global transportation technologies , combined with falling energy prices that led to globalization throughout the and into the led to the boom in oil and natural gas industries , bolstering many northern towns . Simultaneously , the global transport of goods became cheaper , production and manufacturing was moved to countries outside of North America and commodity prices declined . This shifting global production economy affected in the early . In 1982 the economy shrank by . In response , urban redevelopment efforts were spurred on , such as the development of False Creek in Vancouver in preparation for the World Fair , Expo . Urbanization in British Columbia

Urbanization in Contemporary urbanization in is characterized by significant population growth in southwestern cities , depopulation of northern urban centres and housing and security throughout the province . Rapidly changing technologies and resource use , as well as the conflict over whether and how to extract resources in the province mean that the exact form of urbanization in cities is impossible to predict . In the following section we explore two case studies that look at more contemporary urban processes in Vancouver and Victoria respectively . Figure Immigrants residing in Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area as a percentage of Canada and British Columbia immigrant population , by period of immigration , 2001 by the Government of Canada and Citizenship and Immigration Canada ( english ) Urbanization in British Columbia I

Case Study The Georgia and Vancouver The Greenest City ?

Vancouver has developed a reputation as being a leader in urban sustainable development based on the density of the downtown core , its and the integration of the natural landscape into its neighbourhoods . This reputation is built on Vancouver history of social and environmental activism on various local and global issues such as migration , economic development and resource extraction . The environmental activist organization was founded in Vancouver , and currently the city is implementing a sustainability framework known as the Greenest City Action Plan . The Georgia and , which connect East Vancouver to the downtown core , are remnants of a failed plan to bring a freeway through the heart of Vancouver in the . The are what architect Aldo Rossi calls urban artifacts public , material structures that have layers of meaning placed on them by people in the city . Public opposition to the freeway plan is often credited with preserving the city historical neighbourhoods such as , Chinatown and . It was a defining moment when urbanist and activist Jane Jacobs ideas of use urban spaces populated by socially and culturally diverse communities triumphed over urban planner Robert modernist utopia of highways and . Today , the city is exploring options for removing the completely under the Greenest City Action Plan . So how is it that a battle about highways in the city helped to make Vancouver environmentally conscious ?

How does the city implement sustainability policies ?

Figure The Georgia and Case Study The Georgia and Urban Decay In the many cities in North America were undergoing urban decay , which was defined by stagnating economies due to deindustrialization , depopulation , changing and populations moving into the urban centres , a wave of immigration to North America , a growing ideology of home ownership and suburbanization , fears of increased crime , and poverty leading to increased instances of ill health , illicit drug use and decreased property values . This narrative of urban decay was often the impetus behind implementing urban restructuring projects such as highway construction , public housing projects , and modern office buildings . As a result of these projects , many historic neighbourhoods were destroyed and poor and marginalized communities were displaced . The phenomenon of depopulation and stagnant economies was not as severe in most Canadian cities as in the United States , but Canadian urban planners , politicians and those with economic interests still worried about what might happen to their cities . Vancouver , with a government at the time , advocated for a large project based on people driving cars . In 1960 , the Vancouver Board of Trade put forward a development plan advocating a network of freeways linking the metropolitan region . The Georgia and , built in 1972 , are the only completed part of this plan . Around the same time , Project 200 , a Vancouver waterfront redevelopment , was introduced . It included a freeway running along English Bay and through , Chinatown and . The plan was to build modern towers and a freeway exit leading commuters straight to parking garages on the waterfront . Luckily , Project 200 also did not come to fruition . In 1971 , the federal government stated that money slated for urban redevelopment in British Columbia could not be used for transportation development . The reasons for that decision were not due to a lack of money , or austerity measures but because of the sustained efforts of residents organizing against urban renewal projects and the transportation projects that ensued from them . The Freeway Why did these freeway plans materialize as they did in so many other North American cities ?

The two dominant narratives about why Vancouver did not build the freeway are ( there was not enough regional planning coordination and resources for a freeway to be built in the metro Vancouver region , and ( people , through community activism and professional groups , rejected the plan . By 1967 , the Chinatown Freeway Debates , as they are commonly known , become weekly events , with 500 to 800 citizens crowding city council meetings protesting the destruction of . On November , 1967 , the federal minister responsible for housing , Paul , toured with local activist Shirley Chan and city planner Darlene , two of the main people heading community opposition , along with a lawyer , Mike , who later became mayor of Vancouver and then premier of the province . This tour had such an impact on that he froze federal funding for urban renewal projects across Canada , including funding that Vancouver city hall was counting on to finance freeway construction . The Chinatown Freeway Debates were a turning point in Vancouver planning processes . From this point on , community consultation became a benchmark for urban planning in Canada . The 1972 municipal elections ensured that this process was . The Association ( the municipal political party that had been in power for 30 years , was defeated in both mayoral and council races by the newly formed Electors Action Movement ( TEAM ) Two of the councillors elected were Mike and Darlene , who had earlier helped to organize residents . Case Study The Georgia and 10

Viaduct Removal ?

Forty years after the planning debate , in 2013 , Vancouver City Council approved a million final planning phase of the Georgia and Viaduct removal . The viaduct removal will open seven acres of land , which is owned partly by the city and partly by a private developer , Pacific . It will also allow the city to address traffic calming issues that are a direct result of the having been built in the first place . There is general consensus that the removal of the is environmentally beneficial for Vancouver , but there remain questions about how the development will proceed , who might be displaced , whether this development will be socially just and which business interests will benefit . It is estimated that about housing units could be developed on the land , and 20 or less could be designated as affordable housing ( City of Vancouver , 2011 ) which would help the city address another planning priority , homelessness . The redevelopment is also intended to make way for a into the downtown , rerouting the traffic that currently travels along a busy entrance to the downtown core . The concern is that this rerouting will endanger one of Vancouver oldest community gardens and the produce warehouses that operate along Malkin Avenue . Questions about the nature of urban planning , public consultation and social sustainability have come to the forefront of the debates around the viaduct removal . Neighbourhood residents are asking how the plan maintains communities , and what the nature of public consultation is . legacy of community activism and is a part of its identity . But , as the current debate about the viaduct removal shows , the struggle continues . Figure The Georgia and Photo by Cristina Temenos 11 Case Study The Georgia and

Case Study Dockside Green , Victoria The case of Dockside Green in Victoria , a development built in 2011 on an abandoned dockyard , is helpful in illustrating how cities are parts of larger systems , such as environmental , economic and social interactions . Figure 16 Wind power , Dockside Green , Victoria approach to understanding cities is based on ecological notions of . With this perspective , cities are as a series of interrelated social , economic and ecological processes that are in constant interaction and motion . Dockside Green , for example , was financed by a local credit union known for innovative and Case Study Dockside Green , Victoria 12

socially conscious investment strategies . This means that it had the dual goal of creating a healthy community and contributing to a healthier environment . The aim of Dockside Green was to create a community that takes into account environmental , social and economic sustainability , and it is based on new urbanism principles ( Figure ) These principles include , connectivity , sustainability , traditional design , increased density and structures . me , work shop A ol , we Hacks and and once in class ! ma boule I in ages . lo walk ( and alloys levels MOSS PRINCIPLES OF . a sense ea mace , Puma an camel I of uses I A 555 55 95 and sues elm walk . scale al . Hansel town . ul natural His . More . A ul sense el place and seamless closet mass Dues and mat lawns , and lo . A move use al . Eco a ano a use ol value To cleave a move scam Energy clans lo me 215 and walking as my Less use on Move local Figure Principles of new Before construction could begin , the site needed extensive environmental remediation at an estimated cost of 12 million . The surrounding community demanded significant input into the waterfront redevelopment because the Gorge Waterway , a saltwater inlet traveling through the city of Victoria , is ecologically important , containing eelgrass beds which are some of the most diverse and productive ecosystems in the world . The beds provide key salmon habitat , act as a nursery space for thousands of marine species , prevent erosion and are a direct food source for migratory birds . The Gorge Waterway also provides Dockside Green with waterfront real estate , increasing the land value of the development . LEED Development The design that was chosen for Dockside Green operates under LEED neighbourhood development principles . LEED , or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design , is a certification system for green building Construction . 13 Case Study Dockside Green , Victoria

Housing is a major concern in most Canadian cities , and while Dockside Green has been successful from an environmental sustainability perspective , it has been less so from a housing perspective . Dockside Green is located in Victoria West , a traditionally community in the city . The provision of social housing units was much less that what had been originally proposed in the project , and the main focus on housing was for people making to a year . Many of the units provided were and social housing units , which are generally not appropriately sized for families with children . So , while the development has been successful in creating an environmentally high quality of life for its residents , it has been less successful in creating social inclusion . Figure Dockside Green , Victoria by Adrianna ( used under license licenses ) Figure Wind power , Dockside Green , Victoria by Adrianna ( used under license ( licenses ) Figure Principles of new urbanism created by Hilda and is released with a license . It uses the using the following images and sources Street , Dublin ( licenses ) Wind turbine with observation deck an der ( File Wind turbine with observation deck an der ) by ( licenses ) Tampa Florida November 2013 ( wiki File Tampa Florida November ) by ( licenses ) 1784 Plan of the City of San Francisco of ( Plan of the City of San Francisco of ! Juan de ( Ortiz , Alfonso 2007 , is under Public Domain . wiki New ) by ( wiki User ) is under BY SA ( licenses ) Prospect New Town in , Colorado ( File ) by Decumanus User Decumanus ) is under BY SA ( licenses ) Cafe de ( wiki File Caf de ) by 25 ( wiki File St ) by wiki User ) is under BY SA wiki ?

is under BY SA wiki User ) is under BY SA wiki wiki New wiki wiki User 25 ) is under Public Domain . Case Study Dockside Green , Victoria 14 Summary The historical background of urbanization of British Columbia dates back to the first settlements by First Nations communities approximately years ago . The establishment of settlements along the coast and rivers of served as important agriculture and trade routes . At the start of the century the First Nations landscape began to change as a result of the British occupation and colonial domination in the region . Cities such as Victoria became prominent trading and military posts and Victoria was established as the first colonial city in . Economic drivers such as forestry , trapping , fishing and gold led to a more rapid urbanization in 1858 . The rise of immigration , as a result of building the Canadian Pacific Railway mostly by Chinese workers , began to change the cultural composition of British Columbia . The rise in Chinese immigration resulted in the establishment of in , which reflected the view that as visible minorities , the Chinese were inferior and should therefore live apart . Once the railway was completed in 1881 the population of doubled in a period ( The development of the Canadian Pacific Railway also spurred a transportation boom that resulted in a demographic change in outlying community populations . The urbanization in the century saw and gaining population . As the railway was a source for transporting people and goods across British Columbia , there was then an outward migration from urban centres through World War II . During the postwar economic boom of the and up through the , there was also the rise in shipbuilding in the Inlet . The economic and population booms that occurred in interior cities across British Columbia resulted in the need for several infrastructure expansion projects , such as Ferries and road and airport expansion . Growing global transportation technologies created a boom in the oil and natural gas industries throughout the and early . However , with an economic shrinkage of in 1982 , began to increase its efforts in urban redevelopment , especially with the Expo 86 in Vancouver . A global sense of place is a way of viewing a city as globalized or worldly precisely because of its relationship to other places and the mobile processes that are ongoing in places . Likewise , a global sense of place means that the territoriality , or what makes a place unique , is able to be understood because other places are different . A global sense of place characterizes places in three ways . Places have multiple identities and meanings . The meaning is dependent on the people who are experiencing a place . Places are more than physical locations they are made up of processes . Places are not static they are ongoing and ever changing because of relationships to other places . The two case studies highlight the urban processes and considerations involved in sustainable development . The first case study , Vancouver The Greenest City ?

questions the true urban sustainable development of Vancouver through the examples of Project 200 and the Georgia and removal . The second case study , Dockside Green , discusses the urban sustainability of developing a LEED neighbourhood and the considerations involved in the development , such as the environmental impact of developing along the Gorge Waterway as well as the impact of developing social housing units that have limited social inclusion . 15 Summary

Key Terms Key Terms City A constellation of people and social , political , and economic institutions and infrastructures within a physical location . Colonial city A settlement either mapped onto an existing settlement or created to establish economic and military dominance in a colony . The severing of social . cultural and political ties from a homeland . Displacement The coerced movement of a people from their traditional homeland . Global sense of place Every city is globalized or worldly precisely because of its relationship to other places . and the mobile processes that are ongoing in places . Likewise . a global sense of place means that the territoriality , or what makes a place unique , is able to be understood because other places are different . LEED ( Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ) A certification system for green building construction . New urbanism Connectivity , sustainability , traditional design . increased density and structures . the rebuilding or reconstruction of a previously place . Systems An approach to understanding cities based on ecological notions of . This perspective sees cities as a series of interrelated social , economic and ecological processes that are in constant interaction and motion . Urbanization Combines various , political , technological and environmental processes that affect the way that cities are made up and how people live in cities . Urban artifacts Public material structures that have layers of meaning placed on them by people in the city . Urban decay Processes defined by stagnating economies due to deindustrialization , depopulation of cities , changing and populations moving into the city , immigration , a growing ideology of home ownership and suburbanization , fears of increased crime , and poverty leading to increased instances of ill health , illicit drug use and decreased property values . Key Terms 16

Suggested Activities Su i tics Activity I Find a local urban issue that you are interested in . Research all sides of the argument . Activity Write a blog post that explains a local issue of interest to you or your community . Make sure you situate it in the local history , and explain the implications of potential outcomes . Keep a journal about this issue . Activity Create or add to a Wikipedia entry on this issue ( remember to include your sources ) Activity Visit or and find your neighbourhood or the community in which you live . In this chapter we learned that places have multiple identities . Is your understanding of your neighbourhood represented on the map ?

If not , add volunteered geographic information to the map to represent your understanding of place . Change the lines , add points of interest or of significance to your community on this open source online mapping platforms . Activity Find a community group that is actively engaged with the issue . Act as a participant observer and volunteer . 17 Suggested Activities

Suggested Activities 18 References and Resources References , 2008 , Becoming British Columbia A Population History , Press . Lance . 2005 . Dream City Vancouver and the Global Imagination . Vancouver Douglas and . Nicholas , Ley , David and , 2011 . Gentrification pushes out the Vancouver Sun , Feb , City of Vancouver . 2011 . Report to Council ( June 26 , 2011 ) and False Creek Flats Planning Eastern Core Strategy . Director of Planning and Engineering Services , Cole , Vancouver votes to proceed with study of removal . The Georgia Straight , 26 June , 2013 . Dale , Newman , 2009 ) Sustainable development for some green urban development and . Local Environment , 14 ( Dockside Green Website . Date Accessed June 10 , 2014 . Peter . 2012 , Fall . Tearing Down the Green for all or Green for Some ?

Podcast . City Redeye Vancouver . Coop Radio . Mike and Cameron , Ken . 2007 . City making in paradise . Nine decisions that saved Vancouver . Douglas . and Ley , David . 1994 . Neighbourhood Organizations and the Welfare State . University of Press . David and , 2004 . Finding room Options for a Canadian Rental Housing Strategy . Press . 2011 . A study in Modern ( ist ) urbanism planning Vancouver , Urban History 38 ( 1991 ) A global sense of place . today , 35 ( Temenos , Cristina . In Press ) The Greenest City Experience Exploring Social Action and Social Sustainability in Vancouver , Canada . in Urban Sustainable Development Theoretical interventions and notes from the field . MIT Press . Resources Federation of Canadian Municipalities Interactive demographic map of cities 19 I References and Resources

Residential School Primer Dockside Green Case from Is This The World Greenest Neighbourhood ( The Atlantic ) References and Resources 20