Comments on: Canadian cities: stuck in the past? http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/yulelog/2008/08/02/canadian-cities-stuck-in-the-past/ I am a mongrel - O ma! A gremlin... Thu, 24 Sep 2009 04:34:17 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Yule http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/yulelog/2008/08/02/canadian-cities-stuck-in-the-past/comment-page-1/#comment-9102 Yule Mon, 04 Aug 2008 00:24:39 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/yulelog/2008/08/02/canadian-cities-stuck-in-the-past/#comment-9102 Yes, Vancouver has an edge. I believe it got its charter in 1886 -- would have to look it up, but it was around the last part of the 19th century. . I think that when Larry Beasley was chief planner for the city, he had a lot of support from City Hall -- in other words, there were some smart people at the administrative end of the table <i>and</i> at the political / elected end. That helped create a lot of synergistic energy to move the city forward. . At the risk of really pissing off some folks in Victoria's bureaucracy and/ or political scene, we don't seem to have teamwork or smart people seeking each other out to work together in an assertive manner. . That could change with the next election (in Nov.08), but the next election could as easily bring a change <i>for the <b>much</b> worse</i> as we have some real luddites and pro-stagnation types just itching to get their hands on power (or continue to hold power, as some of the councilors already in power are backwards-thinking). . (PS: as I already said via email, I'm <i>so glad</i> you enjoyed your trip up here, and next time you're here, I'll hop over to Vancouver for sure!) Yes, Vancouver has an edge. I believe it got its charter in 1886 — would have to look it up, but it was around the last part of the 19th century.
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I think that when Larry Beasley was chief planner for the city, he had a lot of support from City Hall — in other words, there were some smart people at the administrative end of the table and at the political / elected end. That helped create a lot of synergistic energy to move the city forward.
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At the risk of really pissing off some folks in Victoria’s bureaucracy and/ or political scene, we don’t seem to have teamwork or smart people seeking each other out to work together in an assertive manner.
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That could change with the next election (in Nov.08), but the next election could as easily bring a change for the much worse as we have some real luddites and pro-stagnation types just itching to get their hands on power (or continue to hold power, as some of the councilors already in power are backwards-thinking).
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(PS: as I already said via email, I’m so glad you enjoyed your trip up here, and next time you’re here, I’ll hop over to Vancouver for sure!)

]]> By: maria http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/yulelog/2008/08/02/canadian-cities-stuck-in-the-past/comment-page-1/#comment-9101 maria Sun, 03 Aug 2008 17:27:23 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/yulelog/2008/08/02/canadian-cities-stuck-in-the-past/#comment-9101 Well, I was going to comment that Vancouver seems to be an exception, then I read all the way to the end of your post that made that same point. My recent (and very short) trip to Vancouver, a city I used to know inside out decades ago, left me amazed at the profound changes it underwent from what seemed like a dour British outpost in 1969 to a vibrant gateway to both Asia and North America at once. The best of it was (and this is personal) is how it also transformed my family for the better -- but that is another story, though not negligible if you take the original culture of the city.... Well, I was going to comment that Vancouver seems to be an exception, then I read all the way to the end of your post that made that same point.

My recent (and very short) trip to Vancouver, a city I used to know inside out decades ago, left me amazed at the profound changes it underwent from what seemed like a dour British outpost in 1969 to a vibrant gateway to both Asia and North America at once. The best of it was (and this is personal) is how it also transformed my family for the better — but that is another story, though not negligible if you take the original culture of the city….

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