Vol. 38, No. 1 (2009)
Publication Date: 2009-11-03
Number of articles: 9
Articles
Abstract
This paper investigates the Vancouver Arena, also known as the Denman Street Arena, and its impact in the immediate six city blocks along Georgia street between Bidwell and Chilco streets. An enterprise of the Patrick family, the Vancouver Arena was built in 1911 to house the Vancouver Professional Hockey Club in the new Pacific Coast Hockey Association, also a Patrick family undertaking. Prior to the Second World War, sport entrepreneurs generally subscribed to the principle of free enterprise, which eschewed government interference. Unlike professional team owners of today, they viewed government financial aid as corporate welfare, an idea antithetical to the capitalistic tendencies of business owners at the time. These early sport promoters usually raised capital through means other than government largess. Municipalities, on the other hand, did not consciously include sport facilities as part of their urban planning. Unlike in stadium and arena projects today, there were no efforts made by promoters to link the construction of a sport facility with the economic health of the city. The case of the Vancouver Arena demonstrates that a sport facility had minimal impact on its immediate vicinity, but the larger economic climate of the city and region had a more significant influence.
Abstract
This article focuses on a secret study commissioned by the City of Calgary chief commissioner in 1973 to ascertain the extent and threat of monopoly control by a leading land developer in the city. Kept from City Council for months after its completion, the report, code named Apollo, found that the Genstar group of companies was in a strong monopoly position. When released, the report led to a public debate, political infighting at City Hall, threats of legal action by Genstar, and a federal investigation. Though its findings on monopoly implications were never substantiated, the report did indicate the growing concentration of corporate power in the land development and construction industries in Calgary, and likely in other Canadian cities as well.
Abstract
Some technologies have had a greater influence on peoples’ lives than others. The automobile is, without a doubt, one that has had an enormous impact. By focusing on the specific example of Quebec City during the inter-war period, we shall try to emphasize some of the major alterations produced by automobilization on the city, the road system, and urban transportation. By investigating relationships between the automobile and urban landscapes, this article draws needed attention to a little-examined urban process in Quebec and in Canada.
Book Reviews
Legg, Stephen. Spaces of Colonialism: Delhi’s Urban Governmentalities. Oxford: Blackwell, 2007. Pp. 254. Maps
Otter, Chris. The Victorian Eye: A Political History of Light and Vision in Britain, 1800–1910. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008. Pp. 382. Illustrations, photographs - PDF through Erudit
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