The cemetery is a feature of the human landscape. It has been described as a memorial to the living as well as to the dead because it reflects the various sustaining mechanisms of the society which creates it. Wealth, prestige, kinship, ethnic and religious barriers are all represented to a degree in the cemetery. This study focuses on the rural cemetery landscape of southern British Columbia in the social and economic context of the 19th century. The cemetery is first described in subjective terms as a series of vignettes. The aesthetic qualities of the cemetery are stressed and the emotions they evoke are considered. A more rigorous examina tion of the rural graveyard landscape in southern British Columbia follows Chapter 1, where the results of field work are presented. The scene is set for an interpretation of that landscape in Chapter 3, including a discussion of English and American antecedents in cemetery planning and ‘death’s celebration’ in the 19th century. Chapter 4 considers the rural cemetery landscape of southern British Columbia as a reflection of 19th century society in that province. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

The intention of this thesis project will be primarily focused on issues of the cemetery that involve its utilization as a vehicle to cultivate an awareness of heritage and its role in establishing a framework on which to promote the sense of communal identity in an authentic manner. For as many divergent societies that co-exist on earth there are equally as many diverse ritualistic patterns involving death and dying particular to each society. Although the study of these ritualistic patterns is an intriguing one, with regard to utilization of the cemetery as a vehicle to strengthen the identity of place, I believe, it is essential to accommodate and enrich already accepted notions of death and dying particular to Vancouver and Canada. As a consequence of the country's age, it seems that there is always the pressure to import character and values from other places. To begin to define an identity and therefore cultivate community there has to be acknowledgment and acceptance of heritage as an initial point of growth. For these reasons, rather than replace an already existing set of rituals with foreign ideologies surrounding death and dying, it is crucial that existing rituals not be discarded. The proposed site for this project is the Grandview Cut rail corridor that extends between the False Creek Flats and Grandview Woodlands in East Vancouver. Specifically, the site is situated between Clark Drive on the west and Slocan Drive on the east.

The intention of this thesis project will be primarily focused on issues of the cemetery that involve its utilization as a vehicle to cultivate an awareness of heritage and its role in establishing a framework on which to promote the sense of communal identity in an authentic manner. For as many divergent societies that co-exist on earth there are equally as many diverse ritualistic patterns involving death and dying particular to each society. Although the study of these ritualistic patterns is an intriguing one, with regard to utilization of the cemetery as a vehicle to strengthen the identity of place, I believe, it is essential to accommodate and enrich already accepted notions of death and dying particular to Vancouver and Canada. As a consequence of the country's age, it seems that there is always the pressure to import character and values from other places. To begin to define an identity and therefore cultivate community there has to be acknowledgment and acceptance of heritage as an initial point of growth. For these reasons, rather than replace an already existing set of rituals with foreign ideologies surrounding death and dying, it is crucial that existing rituals not be discarded. The proposed site for this project is the Grandview Cut rail corridor that extends between the False Creek Flats and Grandview Woodlands in East Vancouver. Specifically, the site is situated between Clark Drive on the west and Slocan Drive on the east. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate