DISPERSED CITY FORM IN CANADA: A KITCHENER CMA CASE EXAMPLE

This case study illustrates that some Canadian cities are not as compact and centralized as conventional wisdom would have us believe. The spatial structure of Kitchener CMA is shown to be ‘dispersed’ based on empirical trends towards lower population densities, outward spreading of jobs, retailing and other activities, CBD decline, increased open space, a transportation system that is singularly dependent on auto use, and an overriding demand for residential settings deemed to be ‘private’ and ‘rural-like’. The paper acknowledges factors unique to the case study locale that have precipitated dispersed city form. It argues that some other Canadian cities can be expected to share fundamental features of Kitchener's dispersed city form, most notably metropolitan areas that amalgamate two or more historically autonomous cities, but also smaller metropolitan areas and/or ones specialized in manufacturing industry. As regards Canadian cities in general, the paper also makes the point that most parts of all cities built since World War II are primarily dispersed in form. Conceptually, this paper explains dispersion as a change in balance between three sets of factors - ‘space’, ‘proximity’, and ‘place’ - that configure in the locational decision making that underlies urban development. Cette étude de cas révèle l'existence d'une plus grande dispersion urbaine au Canada qu'on ne le laisse généralement entendre. Plusieurs facteurs rendent compte du fort niveau de dispersion de la structure spatiale de la région métropolitaine de Kitchener: densité résidentielle en décroissance, mouvement de l'emploi ainsi que des activités commerciales et autres vers la périphèrie, quantité grandissante d'espaces verts, un système de transport orienté presqu'exlusivement vers l'automobile et une prédilection pour les secteurs résidenties qui offrent de grandes quantités d'espace privé ainsi qu'une proximité de la campagne. Cet article attritue la dispersion urbaine de Kitchener à certains facteurs qui sont propres à cette agglomération. Il soutient également la thèse selon laquelle d'autres régions métropolitaines canadiennes partagent les caractéristiques de Kitchener qui en font une agglomération dispersée. Ceci est le cas notamment des agglomérations qui résultent d'une fusion de plusieurs centres, de celles qui sont de petite et de moyenne taille et, enfin, de celles où le secteur manufacturer joue un grand rôle. L'article maintient aussi que dans toutes les agglomérations canadiennes, les secteurs construits depuis la guerre ont adopté une forme dispersée. Sur un plan conceptuel, cet article impute la dispersion urbaine à un changement dans l'importance respective de trois facteurs de localisation: l'espace métropolitain, la proximité sectorielle, et les particularités des sites urbains.     

Does time heal all wounds? Restoring place attachment in Halifax's Point Pleasant Park after Hurricane Juan

On September 29, 2003, Hurricane Juan profoundly altered Halifax's Point Pleasant Park, resulting in feelings of solastalgia (the distress caused by perceived negative changes to a beloved place) as park users mourned the loss of a place that held great significance for the city. Starting in 2008, over 100,000 trees have been planted in order to restore the original Acadian mixed forest to this landscape. Drawing on scholarly literature focused on place attachment and disaster recovery, this paper utilizes interviews (n = 11) and online surveys (n = 79) to determine whether long‐term park users have re‐established positive place attachments in conjunction with the park's restoration. Our results indicate that participants have largely overcome their solastalgic outlook and restored meaningful place attachments to the park. Unexpectedly, our results also suggest that long‐term participants have current place attachments that appear stronger than the place attachments expressed by participating short‐term users, who never experienced the traumatic impact of Hurricane Juan on Point Pleasant Park.