Of City Planning and Historic Buildings

Planning has dramatic long-term effects on a neighbourhood and a city – both planned and unplanned, both beneficial and not so beneficial. If planning is a significant factor in creating a city, can it be purposely used to create the types of cities that we want, especially in an age where we’re concerned about the loss of downtowns and urban sprawl? Form-based code is a relatively new development that could have a very positive long-term effect on historic building preservation and the development of our communities.

Form-based code is an alternative to zoning and focuses on the physical form rather than use. Under form-based code a city sets architectural standards, landscaping standards, signage standards, building form standards, public spaces standards and a regulating plan about where specific types of buildings forms are permitted.

Form-based code starts with a vision for what a community wants and then creates standards that help to achieve it. Each code is unique to its community and specific to certain areas within the community. Questions that are asked during the development of the code are “will the code produce walkable, identifiable neighbourhoods that provide for daily needs?” and “will the code shape the public realm to invite pedestrian use and social interaction?” Form-based code is a purposeful decision to require private buildings to shape public space and to be integrated into the larger community. Form-based code reflects tradition and community intent.

But how does this help protect historic buildings?

There are many ways.

Form-based code ensures that only complementary infill is allowed in historic places and that the standards are such that it maintains the existing historic character and quality of the area. Historical building preservation is not about no development; it’s about intelligent development and creating buildings that complement the vision of the community. The most beloved historic buildings are those that have survived the test of time – there is often something about their structure, material, or design that connects people to that structure. Why not build on the success of those buildings in designing new structures? Additionally, historic buildings were often designed as mixed use – with retail/commercial on the bottom and residential on top – a mixture of use that created vibrant, well-used communities. When building on tradition, see what worked and learn why it worked.

Historic buildings create a sense of identity that differentiates communities from one another. As form-based code has a role for architectural standards, it can help create attractive public spaces while at the same time protecting the architectural character of an area. This is not about one size fitting all but creating the codes that work within a specific community to meet the needs of that community.

However, form-based code also has other smaller, though no less important benefits. Walkable communities and neighbourhoods encourage people to get out and explore. People rarely care about and fight for something they don’t know or understand. As people explore their communities they learn about it. This awareness and understanding can also apply to historic buildings. People get out and look. They read plaques. They are around to take tours (self-guided or guided). The idea is to get people out more into their community. While this benefits historic buildings, it also enhances social interactions and builds communities. It is also good for commercial enterprises because the longer people spend in a neighbourhood or area, the more they spend. Something that benefits history, social interactions among citizens and the economy? How can that not be a good thing?

From what I was able to find on-line pedestrian friendly/walkable urbanism ended in the 1930s. The car became the new norm. Jay-walking bylaws were encouraged by motorists who wanted to ensure that streets were only for cars. Sidewalks were made smaller so roads could be made larger for automobiles. The way cities were designed changed. Zoning was first introduced in 1916 and eventually became the norm. All of this had dramatic influences on city development.

Now, though, people are wanting those old types of cities back – cities where your daily needs could all be met within walking distance; where the streets were alive with people from morning to evening; where the private spaces and public spaces melded into a coherent community. Form-based code seems to be an important tool in helping make that happens.

Let’s be honest. Form-based code won’t solve all of the problems. But it is an important tool for municipalities to have. It has been adopted by approximately 300 municipalities in the United States at some level or other (within a community or for the entire city) and is being considered by many places in Canada.

I encourage people who are interested in historic buildings and preservation of buildings and neighborhoods to read up on it. As the Lethbridge Historical Society representative on the Heart of Our City Revitalization Committee I have chosen to sit on the Design and Regulatory Planning Subcommittee as I have a sense that this is one more way we can make significant strides in promoting and protecting Lethbridge’s historic buildings.

The editorial in the CMAJ notes a small U.S. study of 65 immigrant Indian women that found that 40 per cent had terminated pregnancies of female fetuses and that 90 per cent currently carrying a female fetus had pursued the idea of abortion.

But the proposed solution – limiting disclosure of fetal gender until 30 weeks – is already causing significant controversy and ethical concerns in the medical community, which asserts a woman’s right to have access to that information.

As a woman, I could not imagine terminating a pregnancy because of the sex of the fetus. However, I am incredibly fortunate to know that I have the right to terminate a pregnancy if necessary and because of that, a pregnancy brought to full term would be joyful and cherished – not to mention how welcome and wanted that child would be in my life. It would be brought into a world full of love, and as much safety and security as I could possibly assure.

Many women do not have such choice, for some not because they do not have legal access of abortion but because their family’s values will not allow that to happen. In the same token, many women would not bring a female fetus to full term because they understand all too well the violence and discrimination it would suffer merely for being born a girl.

I understand that doctor’s have limited ability to stem this in their professional life and exploring the notion of refusing to divulge the sex of the fetus until after 30 weeks is one direct way to slow female feticide. Perhaps bringing more women into the world slowly but surely will work to stop discrimination. Though, perhaps stopping a woman from getting an abortion will condemn that the child she bears to a life of suffering. Clearly, there is no simple solution and no action without a dear cost. The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists acknowledged this:

“The SOGC feels strongly that it is the cultural values and norms in specific segments of the Canadian population that must change to ensure that females are not confronted with procedures and intolerant environments before or after they are born.”

The greater issue here is not should we, as a society, demand the disclosure of the sex of a fetus or a child – though that debate is important and has many critical aspects. At stake is the way we as a society continue to allow persons and groups to devalue women and do nothing to stand against it. That we do not demand better from ourselves and our government. That we simply stop the process of raising children to believe it is only their gender that defines them and it is their gender that will define what they do with their lives. It is these persistent attitudes that allow women to be treated lesser than men, that allow and permit violence and discrimination against girls because they are not considered are worthwhile as boys.

There is something to be done aside from not disclosing the sex of a fetus. It is demanding that the sex of a fetus is inconsequential to the value of the fetus and the value of its person. That a female child is something to be celebrated, not dreaded. That all children deserve to be loved in equal measures because they are innocents in a world that judges them based on something they cannot control and cannot even articulate.

This is following the recent allegations that different public organizations, such as municipalities and other academic institutions, have illegally donated through political fundraisers; as well as accusations that MLA’s are soliciting donations from sources that are illegal under the Election Finances and Contributions Act.

A serious issue to be sure, and one that many have noted is sadly unsurprising due to the way politics is in Alberta and the dominance a massive party 40 years in power has over the entire province.

The University of Lethbridge has responded to the allegations made by the Wildrose Alliance Party:

The University of Lethbridge responds to today’s allegations by the Wildrose Party as follows:

1.    In the fall 2005, the University of Lethbridge was notified of changes to the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act.

2.    As soon as the University of Lethbridge was notified of changes to the Act, University Administration, the Board of Governors and the Board Finance and Audit Committee took immediate steps to ensure the University was in compliance with the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act.

3.    There is a Board of Governors Policy in place, which reflects the Act’s guidelines and prohibits the University from purchasing tickets to political party fundraising functions where the cost per ticket exceeds $25.

4.    This policy was implemented upon notification of changes to the Act and was discussed at the first opportunity with the Board of Governors.

5.    The University has strictly adhered to this Policy.  Individuals who attend functions hosted by any political party are not reimbursed by the University.

6.    The October 2007 expense referenced in the Wildrose release complies with the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act in that it was not a contribution to a political party.  It was an event organized by a student group.

7.    There have been no expenses that violate the University of Lethbridge Board Policy or the Province of Alberta Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act since the policy and Act were implemented six years ago.

At this time, this statement is the University’s immediate response.

“For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 6:12”
― Saint Paul, The Epistles of Paul and Acts of the Apostles

It is simple to categorize occupy movements around the world as akin to one another in every way. Yet, when you see the forest for the tress, one can see they greatly differ compared to their neighbors. The local issues that the participants are concerned about may be connected to the global issues represented by every protestors and occupier, but the variation between camps and founders of each movement is obvious to a keen observer. Occupy is local in many ways, which is why in London the sites at St. Paul’s are still up and in Canada we only have Occupy Newfoundland-Labrador (brave souls facing the Atlantic) – seemingly with the blessing of the city and it’s legislatures as there is no move to dismantle the site in the foreseeable future. It represents a communities choices and alignment.

The St. Paul’s site for Occupy London has received international attention thanks to the various parties involved: church, state, parishioners, and citizens. There have been reports of defecation on the grounds, and of harassment of tourists and church goers. There was also the well publicized leaving of Giles Fraser, a canon chancellor of St. Paul’s over Twitter. The split within the church itself over the rights of the protestors to be there presented a interesting challenge – it wasn’t citizen’s versus the state. It was a split between ideology, basic religious rights, and the concept of sanctuary all while intersecting with the basic rights of a city.

I visited there on the 22nd of December – what was supposed to be the night before the site had to be dismantled and the community dispersed. The grounds were clean, but the light was dim. The entry tents – information, the “library”, and the food tents, were all clean and staffed with outgoing though certainly not pushy people. I walked around freely, alone. Stopping occasionally to chat to those who milled around. To those in the library, in the media tent, and in the information tent.

Everyone was friendly, and more than willing to talk. This video posted is of a UK business owner, Nicholas Galbraith – a recent convert to the occupy movement. He spoke to me about his reasons for joining the movement and his business philosophy. Many things he said rang true with others I have spoken to about the movement worldwide, but this most of all:

“We’re not here to scrounge off people. We’re here to make a differed throughout the whole world and it will work.”

(The video is split into two parts – please excuse the shoddy iphone quality and amateur editing.)

I spoke to several others while wandering. A doctor who identifies as a communist, a professional activist/environmentalist who has been on the site since the beginning as an organizer and another camp member who was working the kitchen. With each and every person, there was a sense of purpose and of quiet optimism. Each person recognized that Occupy was not just a camp site. It was more than a protest, it was a movement. It was the responsibility of each and every person involved to carry that spirit forward and integrate in their daily lives. No matter where they have come from or where they will go once the camp is taken down.

The news of an extended stay until January delivered that evening trickled through camp as I walked around. It wasn’t returned with yells of victory, or tent parties. It was a quiet night and a few people heard from a few others and the news spread. Little conversations about how much longer their community could stay together, but it didn’t seem to change too many minds about the need to leave eventually. With respect, to keep those who support the occupy movement supportive. The site is a community. With good and bad like any other. There are those who want to carry forward, and those who needed a place to go.

I want you to remember fourteen women who were killed simply because they were women who wanted to know more.

The post from The Independent reminded readers that this was a horrifying incident that is often repeated in small and large actions world-wide.

We know that in North America women are protected under the law against gendered violence and attacks. However, that doesn’t always translate to societal norms. Women are still subject to domestic violence in rates higher than men, women are still subject to sexual harassment almost every day in almost any situation, and women are still expected to explain why they need to keep fighting for equal rights.

Questions raised ask why women still continue to fight under the cause of feminism, and why women’s groups and funding is still demanded. We fight – and yes, I use this word purposefully, because we must. Because women’s shelters are still over crowded and in high demand. Because it was ONLY 22 years ago when a man armed with a shotgun targeted women who simply wanted to learn more, and only five years ago when a gunman opened fire at Dawson College.

There have been more instances of this, of women being targeted for demanding better.

This was one action, one of many, and it seems daunting to contemplate how we can stem the tide of gendered violence – but it only takes small things to change the way our communities view the women’s rights. It is as simple as not just telling little girls they are pretty, but also telling them they are smart. It is reminding our sons, nephews, grandsons to be kind to everyone and not bother with petty differences such as what are “girls” things and what are “boys things”. It is reminding a teacher to not assign blue for boys and pink for girls. It is slowly changing they way we view gender differences and respecting people’s individual choices – not expecting they made them because of their gender.

It takes big actions too. It takes women’s groups, marches, a recognition we still have a long way to go. It takes pay equity, universal childcare and the right of a father to take paternity leave to care for his children so their mother can go back to work.

It is also the little things that can reinforce negative attitudes. Such as the Lethbridge MP who celebrated the death of the long gun registry with a two finger salute.

Long guns kill women. They are the primary source of death resulting from violence in a domestic abuse situation in rural areas.

Last month the Canadian government eliminated the registry, against advice from victims advocate groups, from law enforcement organizations, and the outcry of many women’s organizations who see the direct cost of gun related injuries. Since the registry 2/3 fewer women had been killed as a result of injury from a form of long guns.

Another small act is to ignore what this means for women in rural, hard to reach areas across the country. But an even smaller act is never forget the signal this sends. To remember and remind others what it means for our government to take away a form of protection and what could potentially be life saving information.

The victims and survivors at Dawson College and at École Polytechnique have not forgotten. Neither should we. It is the little things that keep it going.

The program was met with both apprehension and great interest. If done well, if delivered appropriately, it could make all the difference to someone who has to deal with being unable to prove you are who you say you are day in and day out.

A year into the program, it’s difficult to identify if it’s working as well as expected—though what is clear, is that it’s making a difference to many.

The number of identification cards is up by nearly 300, according to an internal survey done in early 2011 by the Government of Alberta, although the survey was not a very thorough or methodologically sound snapshot, according to a Ministry of Human Services spokesperson. A full audit of the program is planned for 2012.

Agencies also report increased interest and the seeking out of information on obtaining ID. The ministry reports that this sometimes leads to persons being able to obtain ID easily, having the required documentation already unknowingly.

In Edmonton, Urban Manor offers 75 transitional and long-term beds for men. Michele Dowling, a case worker with Urban Manor, has seen the direct results of the identification program. “It has made getting ID for residents much easier. It is a one stop shop now, instead of having to run to different registers and all over the place,” she says. “It has made it much more accessible to the guys.”
However, the challenges that were initially recognized have yet to be reconciled. Documentation is still challenging to obtain—especially for those agencies that deal with large client bases and limited funding—and high-needs clients often don’t stay in one place for too long.

Service Alberta has a minimum fee the government charges, but no standardized service fee. It is “market dependent” for vital statistic documents: marriage licenses, birth certificates, and death certificates. Any registry in the province can charge whatever service fee, on top of the government-mandated fee, that they so choose. The spokesperson from the Ministry of Human Services did assure that the cost of an identification card itself is regulated by Service Alberta as to not prove a financial barrier.

Aside from the financial issues, there remains the basic issue of institutional distrust. The long-term care facilities, like Urban Manor, are able to reconnect with their clientele consistently, but larger centres such as the Calgary Drop-In Centre or Boyle Street see clients come and go.

Louise Gallagher, public relations and volunteer manager for the Calgary Drop-In Centre, maintains the initial concern she had early on when the program was being introduced to agencies. “There are really wounded people, and as a society we tend to overlook that. What happens is that it becomes easier to give up. They have to keep pushing against all this bureaucracy and they are more likely to give up.”

Despite the challenges, and the uphill battle to connect with persons who have been mistreated and ostracized for so long, Dowling and Gallagher both express that it is worth it.
Dowling can visibly see the change in Urban Manor’s clients. “They are not concerned about being stopped by the police anymore because they can prove who they are and where they live. They exist because of a piece of plastic in their pocket.”

Originally published in VUE weekly. January 23rd, 2011 Issue #840

For Albertans aged 18 to 34 years, only 16.9 percent go onto post-secondary education. Part of this is directly attributable to the strength of the oil and gas industry, and its high labour needs. A 2011 Campus Alberta Planning Resource report states, “Alberta has a lower post-secondary participation rate than other provinces due to a number of factors, including our strong labour market and high rates of in-migration of educated people.”

Greg Weadick, Minister of Advanced Education and Technology acknowledges, “I think we probably do see some young people coming out of school and going directly to work for a while. Don’t forget the average age of a PSE student is 28—it isn’t 18 years of age.” The strong labour market allows many to work for a few years before returning to higher education.
Oscar Prada, an Albertan who emigrated from Colombia with his family in 2002, went the path many do after graduating from high school. He enrolled in a post-secondary program for a short while but found that the cost and the level of work expected were just too much. So, he became a general contractor for a firm that built in the oil fields. The hours were long, and the culture was geared towards drugs and alcohol. “I stayed because of the money,” says Prada. “I didn’t want to go back to school and not make money. It was about $25 an hour, I was 19, 20, without experience. I made a lot of money but I spent it.”
His experience was not entirely negative, it just wasn’t encouraging—overwhelmingly, those he worked with didn’t hold education in high regard.  Without a minimum high school requirement, many young men saw the promise of freedom and big money to be very enticing. Prada didn’t encounter too many opportunities to advance his education. His company offered no upgrading or skill training outside of on-the-job experience for him or his peers. It’s a similar story to many who have worked in northern Alberta as part of the oil industry.

Prada did leave the industry to finish his degree, but the decision didn’t come easy. “They want you to stick around,” says Prada. “That way they know they can count on you, so you start building a relationship with them, and then when you want to leave you feel guilty and under pressure. I felt like I was leaving them hanging.”

The disregard for higher education isn’t representative of all companies, or for all positions. Canadian Natural Resources Limited offers $3000 to their employees to upgrade skills or get more education. Tim Reed, a member of the CNRL human resources team explains, “For the most part, employees can decide. We only ask that it be industry-related, so if someone wanted to spend several thousand dollars on studying art history, that may be interesting and a viable pursuit in its own right, but really it doesn’t support the industry at all so that isn’t something we would support. By and large, people spend it on upgrading skills within their own profession.”

Companies can hardly be disgraced for emphasizing educational opportunities that would benefit them, but there should be a critical look at the factors discouraging oil workers from pursuing post-secondary studies, and what companies can do to improve the situation. Not only is it a disservice to the individual, it also does the long-term future of oil exploration in our province a disservice.

It is estimated that Alberta will need 349 000 new workers by 2019, and that this province will see a shortage of 77 000 workers by 2019, of which 80 percent or more will need some form of post-secondary education. If the province continues to ensure the oil and gas industry is dominant in every aspect of the Alberta economic environment, then it would be only logical that the majority of the approximately 250 000 educated workers needed will be in the oil and gas industry. Without an educated population, the industry will start to suffer as it takes critical thinkers, and broadly-educated people to ignite innovation for any industry.
For many graduates of post-secondary in Alberta, there are few other secure opportunities outside of the oil and gas industry. Minister Weadick explains that, due to the scope of the industry, it requires many educated workers. “Each of the major companies in oil and gas have people working, so you’ll find people with sociology degrees helping do market research, people with arts degrees helping design the next advertising campaign, you’ll find people with law degrees working within those companies.”

The oil and gas sector is having a more direct influence on post-secondary institutions through the creation of new programs and technical skill classes to meet the industry’s needs and by funneling funding to create usable research on everything from environmental impact to development to exploratory information.
These new designations are welcome to the industry, and are beneficial for those looking to upgrade skills to move to less physically intensive occupations, but they do take funding away from other programs. As the Alberta government continues to de-fund post-secondary education, new program applications are judged by the enrollment levels they can achieve and the amount of public funding they require.

A program that has a direct industry application and a direct source of students will no doubt be more attractive than a program that fits into a broader, liberal arts environment. “Every year we create new designations—this year we created a new designation: gas compressor technician. We are always looking for an opportunity to provide certification as well so that people can get the appropriate training for the work they are doing,” says Minister Weadick.

With the aggressive growth of reliance on the oil and gas industry, more people will feel the short-term gain of the industry, and lose sight of the long-term loss. The loss of innovation outside of oil and gas, the loss of critical analysis from outside observers as more are economically dependent on its success, and of course the loss of diversification. No doubt Alberta will continue to face similar criticisms that will continue to motivate the drain of educated, critical minds to other provinces where there are opportunities available outside of the oil and gas industry and supported by a culture that understands the big picture.

First published November 2nd, 2011 for VUE weekly Issue 837.

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