Conclusion

Whatever their many errors and class biases, planning and public housing experts had something to offer urban Canada. Measured against a persistent housing crisis that began in earnest at the turn of the century, the Richmond endeavor stands out as a potential though ignored course of action.

This raises the all important question. Why was it such an atypical episode? All levels of government recognized, studied, and lamented the housing crisis, but to say that they did not respond with positive measures is an understatement.

A number of plausible constitutional and financial explanations come to mind. The federal and provincial governments had the revenue but not clear authority; municipalities had the power but not the funds.

Such technical obstacles can be real enough, though they are especially prohibitive when accompanied by inertia in the vital center of power. Barriers tended to collapse readily enough when they impeded the aspirations of self-interested civic leaders.

When cities wished to own their utilities in order to accelerate economic expansion and boost real estate ventures, financing and authority were found. Electric power distribution, streetcar lines, and even telephone operations were undertaken by municipalities from 1900 to 1920. They differed from public housing, in that, with few exceptions, civic leaders did not consider housing schemes a drawing card for development.

Failure to apply Richmond-style experiments in later years can be explained by constitutional, financial, and priority considerations. Also, a decline in labor militancy during the twenties may have assumed a role. With the discontent of 1918 and the turbulence of 1919 weathered, the Establishment in Canadian cities had less inclination to commit capital to planning and housing projects. 'Red scare' and 'class war' fears receding, complacency prompted reversion to a free market condition as the only means of dealing with expansion of an urban-industrial society.

Whatever the complex mix of forces operating against planning and public housing before and after 1918, all were lifted in one locale under very special circumstances. Planners, architects, and social workers were granted opportunities in Halifax that they were not to achieve again until the emergence of Canada's welfare state after the Second World War.

Next: Footnote References

Back to: Table of Contents

Atlantic Planners Institute

This page and all contents are produced by the Atlantic Planners Institute, an affiliate of the Canadian Institute of Planners.

This document was last modified on March 8, 2000.