Urban Renewal in Canada - Essay Example

Topic: Urban Renewal in Canada Individual Campaign Proposal Development Introduction Urban renewal refers to the redevelopment of land or a specific location for the purpose of urban land use. The concept of urban renewal has a significant implication in regard to urban landscapes; thus, from this it can be asserted that the demographics of most cities are attributed to the urban renewal. The concept of urban renewal in Canada came into existence during the earliest days of urban development1. Urban development resulted from the need for urban centers to adopt expansive styles in its cities’ layout. The industrial revolution in Canada witnessed overcrowding in its major cities, which was not called for. This contributed to the establishment of the reform agenda which was considered best and suitable for the moral and economic aspect of Canada. Canada had notice that the urban renewal program which had been implemented in USA had emerged to benefit the residents of various towns significantly. Among the major towns in Canada where this program was notably implemented is the Distillery District in Toronto2. Generally, urban renewal in Canada involved removal of irrelevant structures, relocation of business centers and the government intervention of purchasing property for public planning and urban renewal. This government intervention in Canada as way of implementing urban renewal involved the purchase of private property for the purpose of city-initiated development projects. This exercise went further into the rural context of Canada carried out in rural areas commonly referred to as renewal of the village. The major reason that prompted Canada into considering urban renewal was to ease both human and building congestions and to ensure that major town and cities received expressways and freeways. There was a consideration that Canadian authorities viewed urban renewal program as being an economic fosterer as well as mechanism of reform. With the adoption of the underlying urban renewal program there emerged a trend in Canada. This emerging trend was that urban renewal in Canada became a policy in which houses and residential neighborhood were affected by urban renewal program. The policy provided revitalization of the central business district as well as the gentrification of the underlying residential neighborhood. This urban renewal was characterized with more renovation, less destruction and a significant government investment. In today’s Canada, these policies have been integrated into the local government and it is mainly attributed to both big and large business incentives. Urban Renewal Campaigns Projects in Canada Urban renewal in Canada began with the City Beautiful Campaigns. This campaign entailed the Canadian citizen campaign which articulated for the development of urban parks, public art, planting of trees along the streets, removal of overcrowding and the need to address the poor and unsanitary living conditions notably in urban areas3. The Canadian Commission of Conservation was established, which was mandated to monitor the country urban issues and the natural resources4. The planning advisor was appointed to head the commission; the commission also comprised engineers, landscape specialist and surveyors. The first major policy to be implemented by laws included zoning, expansion of urban roads and the traffic regulations, and these aspects of urbanization were given priority by the planners in the commission. Early urban renewal in Canada was mainly characterized by the government providing employment as well as the relief projects for infrastructure construction. It is also at this period of urban development that the social housing movement gained momentum; the concept of urban planning became an area of concern and led to it being incorporated into various programs in the universities in which urban economics and its aspects were taught. Before the initiation of the urban renewal in Canada, the inner-city neighborhoods were turning into congested slummy structures. The urban renewal projects aimed to replace these structures into new, shiny and modernist housing schemes. The concept of the urban design and social engineering were two major areas of concern in the process of urban renewal in Canada5. Although many cities in Canada have not been faced with significant economic and social problems as compared to other countries such as the United States of America and Britain, there are notable problems and challenges which have impacted negatively the economy. These challenges were notable in areas such as Finch and Jane in Toronto and the most affected eastern side of Vancouver. Because of the increasing globalization, there was a distress proposal from the communities for the urban renewal programs in the major cities across Canada. This pressure from the citizens and the public in general led to urban renewal in Canada; these projects aimed at restoring urban planning to suit the economic activities in Canada. The urban renewal programs also attempted to restore the social and the urban economic coherence which had been neglected due to poor public urban economic policies and urban planning. In Toronto the government efforts of renewing its neighborhood and its suburbs began with the construction of the Toronto Don Mills suburb. This was the earliest urban design which comprised four housing quadrants consisting of a high school and a well urban planned shopping centre. Another characteristic of this urban renewal plan is that the urban plan design adopted comprised the aspect of urban and expansion developments. John Sewell (1993) in his research on the economical impacts of proper planning and renewal of urban areas authors a publication on The Shape of the City6. He describes how Toronto was struggling for modern planning taking into consideration the various aspects of urban economics. This urban economist author provides the actual situation and the state of cities in Canada attributed by the poor urban planning7. From this it can be asserted that during this early period of urbanization there was a significant need of urban renewal in Canada for the purpose of creating better cities. This early urban renewal in Toronto commenced after the Second World War where most of the authorities, notably the surveyors and constructors, were greatly influenced by the emerging modern planning ideas across the globe8. These urban ideas, planning and design were lauded, but after sometime there was need for the comprehensive urban renewal which flourished and influenced other major cities in Canada. The newly adopted urban renewal plans and ideas revolved around the economics and the general appearance and the organization of the various buildings in a city. This influence and competition on how cities could be made better to suit the economic as well as the social needs of the public dominated in most cities in North America. The shops at Don Mills are notable as one of the earliest urban renewals, located on a 15 hectare site in Toronto9. According to Sewell (1993), the core principle behind this kind of modern planning design was based on how to create an urban location for carrying out trade and other economic activities effectively. This urban renewal project became one of the biggest and the largest urban renewals as well as retail business redevelopments in Canada. This project can be describes as the key factor behind the campaign and the urban renewal movements across the Canadian urban areas. From this Don Mills urban renewal project in Canada there was a repeated constructions and urban planning ascribing to the same style and urban design across the major cities in Canada. Despite this high spirit movement, there were strong opposing schools of ideas which significantly halted the urban renewal and planning attributed to the public response and reaction. The issue was that the conservative Canadian citizens lobbied for the protection of the Old City Hall and also the effort of halting the Spadina Expressway. Despite these battles, the modernist approach on urban renewal prevailed in the suburbs and most urban areas in Canada, notably in the cities that initiated various urban renewal projects. The initially existing shopping mall in Don Mills was renewed into a modern shopping mall. The modern urban design was pedestrian friendly and a well designed mixed use area that integrated the larger established businesses and the street-accessed shops10. There was also a well modernized residential building with essential various community amenities creating new public places which never existed in the previous urban designs. It is notable that this urban renewal project, which was characterized by the various shopping malls, had significant positive economic implications. The urban renewal led to a significant increase in the amount of retail and the general commercial activities in this urban centre in Canada. The successful implementation of the Don Mills Shopping mall urban renewal project and its economic implication completely changed the view and the perception of urban renewal in Canada. Most of the committed urban reformers emerged, advocating vigorously the need of the initiation and implementation of urban renewal projects across the cities in Canada. Attributed to this strong public opinion, the government set up various commissions tasked to provide the way forward in regard to the urban renewal developments. This comprised short term as well as the long term urban renewal transition strategies, city planning and renewal programs for the current situation and the future in the underlying Canadian cities. After the Toronto Don Mills suburb project, with the approval and the public interest and support of the urban renewal projects, there came the largest urban renewal project in Canada. This highly supported urban renewal project was established in Toronto’s Regent Park, which became the first Canada’s large scale urban renewal project. The project involved construction of large scale social housing projects. This transformed the housing and the general look and planning of the urban areas in Toronto, which had been characterized with congestion and poor planning. There were a significant number of urban and modern design housing projects that followed notably in Halifax’s north end, which had adopted the modern architecture. It can be asserted that this project paved way for the initiation of other several residential housing projects which lead to a countrywide urban renewal, as far as housing is concerned. The urban renewal and the growth plan in Canada have its major focus on the intensification of areas as well as creating a well integrated community in regard to both social and political aspects. This comprises job creation, better housing, educational services, open space as well as the recreation for the residents. The Canadian urban renewal also involved redevelopment of the identified urban sites for the purpose of incorporating modern planning designs of the project underlying this is the Montreal NDG neighborhood11. This urban renewal project involved the adoption of green building standards which entailed construction of new premises and effective renovations. In northern Quebec, urban renewal took place in the Ouje-Bougoumou Cree community; this urban renewal applied the sustainable modern architectural designs incorporated with the native traditional aspects in its structure and the organizational design12. The notable modern urban renewal in Canada is the Woodward project in Vancouver. As noted earlier, Vancouver is a notorious east side urban centre which is essential in regard to the urban economic activities. This project was carried out by Henriquez Partners, and the project involved redevelopment, renovation and the restoration of the old abandoned store site department significant for commercial activities. In addition to this, market stalls and social housing in the site were built. This project involved major economic as well as the social stakeholders before the commencement of the project. This urban renewal has become economically significant up to date because it reconnects the Vancouver downtown and the eastern neighborhoods and communities, thus enhancing economic activities in the Vancouver area and its surrounding neighborhoods. Also, another notable project in Canada’s urban renewal projects is the colorful and tree planting art in the street of the urban areas and cities. The project of outside the planter is an emerging trend in the urban renewal projects. Design and artist participate in revitalizing their own installations as a way of conserving environment. The tree planters are essential in boosting the green space, which comprises the modern urban planning principles. This kind of projects acts as a motivation as it enhances the community and the stakeholder’s participation as well as the interest on the shared urban environments. Urban Renewal Approaches in Canada The urban renewal projects in Canada from its early developments ascribed to the various innovative approaches. These approaches can be discussed as follows: Community Support Approach The government and other urban renewal movements engaged the major stakeholders in all the stages of the implementation of the urban renewal projects. The campaigns and the lobbies to the target residents and other stakeholders are essential for the achievement of support and approval for the underlying project13. It is important that the urban renewal projects are founded on the interest of the local residents for its relevancy and sustainability in the future. This task is entrusted to the advisory committees of various cities and urban centers. This urban renewal approach involves the consensus agreement between the committee, the community, city staff and the developers regarding the amenity space and the general suitable design of the site. Also, in regard to this engagement, the project implementation plan is further discussed upon the stakeholder’s approval. This always involves the creation of a project plan with several phases and the overall implementation methodology of the project. Promotion of high-quality urban designs approach The established commission overlooked the proposed designs, and they were checked to ensure that they are consistent with their urban design guidelines for every selected site. The role of these guidelines is to provide the principles, objectives that are measurable for the public, weather consideration and the site landscape. This approach is essential in ensuring that larger sites adopt high quality and acceptable to all urban design14. The Commission established by the government is authorized to make approvals for any underlying urban renewal project. This approach is essential in protecting the rights of any stakeholders. It is also important to note that this is essential is ensuring that quality and appropriate measures and standards are followed to the letter in regard to the implementation of any of the projects. Green design approach The initiated “Green at work’” program that incorporated all the initiated urban renewal projects is important. This design agitated for green building designs, notably the sustainable environmental conservation, procurement conservation, and waste diversion. This design had an advantage: it reduced the energy consumption. Notable are the shopping malls and shops in Don Mills which had an effective waste diversion of 77% and other effective functioning energy saving and environmental conservation mechanisms and policies15. In conclusion, urban renewal in Canada is considered as a consequence of the globalization after the Second World War. In addition to this, the urban renewal has been mostly attributed to the increased urban economic awareness in the cities and its authorities and the public opinions as well as the incorporation of new ideas and architectural designs. Urban renewal projects in Canada are generally aimed at creating better cities with effective connections, infrastructure, better housing and modern residential planning designs. The urban renewal projects in Canada are essential in ensuring that there is maximum utilization of land and public space as well as environmental conservation. Canada has made tremendous economic and social progress and achievements in regard to urban renewal; nevertheless, there are still challenges and limitations. The key challenge is a well established sustainable urban environment attributed to the social and political issues. Upon the address of these issues, including the sustainability issues, Canada’s government and its developers will be able to successfully and fully implement the urban renewal projects. Work Cited Sorensen, André, Peter Marcotullio, and Jill Grant. Towards Sustainable Cities: North American Perspectives on Managing Urban Regions. Montréal: Éditions Chouette, 2004. Przeworski, Joanne Fox, J. B. Goddard, and Mark W. de Jong, Urban regeneration in a changing economy: an international perspective. Montreal: Clarendon Press, 1991. Kealey, Gregory S. Workers and Canadian History. Ottawa: McGill-Queens, 1995. Pacione, Michael. Canada Urban Geography: Urban Economics Perspective . Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2005. Sewell, John. The Shape of the City: Toronto Struggles With Modern Planning. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1993. Read More