To Build A Better City Part 2

NFB CMHC 1964 doc about Vancouver's Downtown Eastside "blight" problem; paternalistic and frightening approach to civic planning.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Vancouver
• historical
• blight
• NFB

[simiapath]

I actually wish more low rental apartment buildings could have been built. Without them Strathcona would be even less affordable than it is already becoming. The wave of character home 'restorations' restore only the old houses themselves, nothing more. They are decimating the original populations of immigrants, low income folks, artists and musicians. The 1960's approach may have been top-down, but at least they were trying to provide some safe low rental housing for the existing population.

[mskydolphin]

But it's not designed for people. Anyone else notice that? It keeps getting harder and harder for people to move and breath. Rebuild the whole thing for people this time.

[SpikePhanta]

@Vauxhall94

They never tore down the buildings....

[Vauxhall94]

Wow, instead of saving the neighbourhood they just got rid of all the history that came with it and put in projects that just made it a whole lot worse.

[vinnie5050]

Thanks for posting this. My family has lived in Strathcona for the last 80 years. My father told me that the city tried to buy his house back then for $5000. My dad refused and he still live in the same house he was born in in 1931. In the 70's he bought 2 more houses for $40,000 and $78,000 on the same block. My dad lives in one house, my brother in another and I live in the third one. Sure glad he did not sell back then. Who knows where we may have ended up!!!!!

[sponger]

funny how their plan to get rid of blight has turned into blight now - cool vid thanks

[blizzy63]

Good for the community, eh? Slumlords sell to big-project development and construction companies and the financiers. They make their fortunes off the projects but they don't live in them. The little guy gets shoved around as usual. The city loses old neighbourhoods for concrete jungles and urban freeways. The fortunes get made and the slick new projects look like slums 15-20 years later anyways. This is no solution, just an endless cycle.

[lago4]

At least back then, tax money from Canadians was coming back to Canadians. Today, it's all going to the government cronies and corporate fatcats investing in the 2010 olympics - Vancouver's claim to shame.

[horseseed]

Holy cow.

[robbyrobrobertrob]

is this canada?