City-regions have emerged as a critical focus of economic activity, governance and social organization as a result of the ongoing processes of economic restructuring. Canadian city-regions are limited in their capacity to respond to contemporary problems due to the functional and structural limitations of outdated governing systems. The Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) is a system of voluntary cooperation among twenty-one local municipalities. While this model has served the city-region well, its limits have been reached in terms of its ability to deliver necessary region-wide policy responses. Economic development, a crucial policy issue for urban regions, is characterized by vague and ill-functioning relationships and by poorly-defined policies and programs between the member municipalities and the regional tier. The GVRD is constrained by the fact that it can only do what is delegated by its members, and decisions are often compromised in order to suit conflicting local interests that exist throughout the region. A new governing model for the city-region should foster a regional vision, and should be appropriate for the responsibilities the city-region is expected to fulfill in this era of global competition. A single-tier government is the most appropriate model for Greater Vancouver, allowing comprehensive regional planning and innovative economic development to be carried out with a strong regional voice, and for decisions to be made with a greater degree of certainty, preserving the livability and economic health of Canada's fastest-growing city-region.

The widespread use of modern media of mass communication, the growth of the profession of social work and the direct impact of voluntary and government welfare programs on individual and family life have made the ordinary citizen aware of the existence of health and welfare services in his community. This awareness, however, is often generalized and may not prove sufficient to enable a person, at the point of human need, to communicate with that agency best fitted to serve him. To overcome these barriers in communication and to provide a continuing demonstration of the existence of and the co-operation between social agencies, governmental and voluntary, many communities have developed central information and referral services. This study seeks first to trace the development of central information services on the North American continent and in Great Britain. The process of community organizations leading to the inauguration of a "Community Information Service" in Vancouver, British Columbia, is described and evaluated, as is the pattern of administration and practice in the Vancouver Information-referral office during the first year of operation on an experimental basis. To evaluate the role of the Community Information Service, Vancouver, a compilation of inquiries according to source, nature and disposal during an eight month period is presented and analysed. The program of the Community Information Service is studied against six developed criteria. From this basis and from the replies received from eight organizations in response to a questionnaire, reasons for and against the continuation of the service beyond the agreed period of experimentation are presented and equated. Some modifications and simplification of agency structure may be anticipated. Schools of Social Work may lay greater emphasis on generalized preparation for practice. These factors may minimize the need for referral between agencies and with it the need for central referral services. But until the movements described above become more visible, the ordinary man living in a metropolitan area may still benefit from the existence of central information-referral offices. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

City-regions have emerged as a critical focus of economic activity, governance and social organization as a result of the ongoing processes of economic restructuring. Canadian city-regions are limited in their capacity to respond to contemporary problems due to the functional and structural limitations of outdated governing systems. The Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) is a system of voluntary cooperation among twenty-one local municipalities. While this model has served the city-region well, its limits have been reached in terms of its ability to deliver necessary region-wide policy responses. Economic development, a crucial policy issue for urban regions, is characterized by vague and ill-functioning relationships and by poorly-defined policies and programs between the member municipalities and the regional tier. The GVRD is constrained by the fact that it can only do what is delegated by its members, and decisions are often compromised in order to suit conflicting local interests that exist throughout the region. A new governing model for the city-region should foster a regional vision, and should be appropriate for the responsibilities the city-region is expected to fulfill in this era of global competition. A single-tier government is the most appropriate model for Greater Vancouver, allowing comprehensive regional planning and innovative economic development to be carried out with a strong regional voice, and for decisions to be made with a greater degree of certainty, preserving the livability and economic health of Canada's fastest-growing city-region. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

This thesis examines how Japanese language schools in the Greater Vancouver area function in the diversification of their pupils’ backgrounds. The schools provide curricula which mainly consist of practices of Japanese language and cultural learning. Applying the content analysis of qualitative data derived from interviews with the school principals, the thesis investigates what emphasis the schools put on their educational policies and practices of the curricula. The maintenance of the learners’ heritage language and culture have been argued as a primary function of heritage language schools such as the Japanese language schools. However, currently most of the Japanese language schools accept Japanese as a heritage language (JHL) learners who are not limited to those children of whom both parents are of Japanese descent and whose first language is Japanese. In addition, the schools accept learners who wish to learn Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) as well. The complexity of the learners’ backgrounds indicate that the schools’ function cannot be explained only as the heritage language/culture maintenance of those who are Japanese descent. The results of this study reveal that the school principals greatly consider the importance of nurturing pupils’ intercultural competence (Byram & Zarate, 1997; Liddicoat & Scarino, 2013). In the current situation of the Japanese language schools, pupils naturally gain intercultural experiences inside and outside the classrooms. The schools’ intercultural perspective enables us to reframe heritage language education to that which is connected to learners’ development of accepting cultural differences. / Graduate / 0282 / mayok@uvic.ca

The Family Service Centres of Greater Vancouver Area is composed of a Main and branch offices. At this time, the Agency is asking whether the service delivery patterns in the Main and branch offices match the characteristics of their respective clients. As a result, this study was undertaken with the following general hypotheses: that there are significant differences between the Main Office, North Shore and Burnaby branches of the Family Service Centres of Greater Vancouver in the characteristics of those requesting service, the nature of their request and the type of approach to the Agency. A cross-sectional survey was made of all persons approaching the Main, Burnaby and North Shore offices during a four week period in October/November, 1967. A data schedule was used by intake personnel to secure information on the total of 411 approaches. Information regarding four variables was sought—socioeconomic status, family life stage, request for service, and type of approach. The Blishen Occupational Class Scale and the Duvall Family Life Stages were used as models. A computer was used in analysing the data. The findings revealed that there were some differences between the three offices in the four variables tested, and that the differences were most marked in socioeconomic class. The general hypothesis was therefore accepted. Further, it was found that generally, the clients came from the lower socioeconomic classes, and that they were child rearing families. Strikingly few aged persons approached the Agency for service. Information/referral was the most requested service in the total sample, and self-referral was found to be the most common type of approach. It is concluded that the Agency should consider varying the service delivery patterns to meet the unique constellation of needs of the clients approaching each office. There are implications also for a general evaluation of services in relation to client characteristics as well as for further research. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

The objective of this research was to study the operation of the ambulance service in the Greater Vancouver Regional District. Attention has been focused on operational policies which affect the system's ability to respond to calls, especially to emergency calls. The stated objective was accomplished by first reviewing the current demand for emergency ambulance services and the present operations. Next deterministic models were investigated and used to give "initial" locations of depots. Finally a computer simulation model was developed and used to conduct experiments, examining alternative ambulance systems. This research revealed that 1. computer simulation is an effective tool for analysing ambulance systems, and 2. there is a need for more emergency ambulance services, including more paramedics, in the Greater Vancouver Regional District. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

A probabilistic spatial exposure simulation model (SESM) was designed to investigate the effect of time spent at work and commuting on estimates of chronic exposure to traffic-related air pollution in large populations. The model produces distributions of exposure estimates in six microenvironments (home indoor, work indoor, other indoor, outdoor, transit to work and transit other) for workers and non-workers, using randomly sampled time-activity patterns from the Canadian Human Activity Pattern Survey and work flow data from Statistics Canada. The SESM incorporates geographic detail through the use of property assessment data, shortest route analysis, and the use of a geographic information system (GIS) to develop pollution concentration distributions. The SESM was implemented and tested using data for 382 census tracts in the Greater Vancouver Regional District of British Columbia. Simulation results were found to be relatively insensitive to the choice of distance used to represent the typical range of non-work related trips; the use of a simple annual average pollution estimate versus a time-stratified annual average; and the use of different indoor/outdoor ratios representing the infiltration of ambient pollution into indoor locations. Substantial sensitivity was observed based on the use of different methods for producing spatial estimates of ambient air pollution. The SESM was used to explore variability in annual total exposure of workers to traffic-related nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Total exposure ranged from 8 μg/m3 to 35 μg/m3 of iv annual average hourly NO2 and was highest where ambient pollution levels are highest, reflecting the regional gradient of pollution in the study area and the relatively high percentage of time spent at home locations. Within census tract variation was observed in the partial exposure estimates associated with time spent at work locations, particularly in suburban areas where longer commuting distances are more prevalent. In these areas, some workers may have exposures 1.3 times higher than other workers residing in the same census tract. Exposures to NO2 associated with the activity of commuting to work were negligible. No statistically significant difference in total exposure estimates was found between female and male commuters, although there were small but observable differences at the upper end of the exposure distributions associated specifically with the work indoor microenvironment. These differences were highest in suburban areas (up to 3 μg/m3 of annual hourly average NO2 higher for female commuters, in relation to 99th percentile total exposures levels of approximately 37 μg/m3), illustrating the impact of systematically different work locations for female compared to male commuters in these same census tracts. Simulated exposures for workers, non-workers, and a base scenario where all time is spent at the residence only were compared. Statistically significant differences were found in the exposure distributions for workers versus non-workers, workers versus residence only, and non-workers versus residence only. Differences in exposure within census tracts were highest at the 10th and 90th percentiles, on the order of -5.4 to +6.5 μg/m3 of annual average hourly NO2 respectively for workers compared to non-workers, in relation to exposure estimates between 10 and 40 μg/m3 of annual average hourly NO2 on average.

An examination of developments between 1970-1990 demonstrate a substantial restructuring of relations between the state and nonprofit societies within Vancouver's mental health system. While helping to establish and support the growth of nonprofit societies, the state, during the 1970's, maintained a "hands off" relationship with the nonprofit sector. Throughout the 1980's and early 1990's, state intervention into the affairs and aspirations of nonprofit societies dramatically increased, primarily through the establishment of corporatist arrangements. Such arrangements necessitated the establishment of non-aligned intermediary organizations to regulate and monitor activities within the nonprofit sector. The establishment and development of nonprofit societies and the subsequent restructuring of relations between the state and nonprofit societies is explored through an examination of corporatism. This examination includes a detailed case study of two nonprofit societies operating in the city of Vancouver between 1972 to the present, the Coast Foundation Society and The Greater Vancouver Mental Health Services Society. The methodology utilized includes analysis of secondary data, archival and documentary materials, and personal interviews with a number of key informants previously or currently employed within the mental health system. Analytic themes from the literature on pluralism and corporatism, along with Claus Offe's theoretical examination of state-interest group relations, are used to explain the construction of corporatism during this period. While the inquiry provides a detailed account of developments within Vancouver's mental health system through a case study approach, broader issues are also explored. The impact of macro economic changes, especially the effect of the recessionary period during the 1970's, is crucial in understanding changing state priorities and the subsequent construction of corporatism. An understanding, therefore, of the way in which corporatism relates to the broader reconstruction of consensus within late capitalist societies is an important focus of this study.

One of the most pressing problems faced by large urban areas is traffic congestion. Traffic congestion, or the urban transportation problem is not a new phenomenon, having existed since the process of urbanization began. Low density urbanization or suburbanization, facilitated by the availability of large numbers of automobiles has contributed to the present traffic problem. The causes of the problem have long been recognized by planners and decision makers, and viable solutions have been proposed. However, in spite of solutions being known, the problem still exists and has become worse. The purpose of this study is to observe how planners have dealt with the land use and transportation factors which contribute to the ever worsening traffic problems in a suburban area. It is hypothesized that the fragmented nature of the planning and decision making processes have resulted in a lack of co-ordination and co-operation in planning to resolve the urban transportation problem. The objectives of this thesis are to gain an understanding of: 1) why the urban transportation problem exists; 2) the planning process involved in finding solutions to this problem; and 3) the effect of the fragmentation of authority over various factors of land use and transportation. The methodology includes the following steps. The first is a literature review of the current thought on the subject of traffic congestion, and the factors causing it. The second is a literature review of the planning process and the theoretical foundations of current thought on land use and transportation studies. This will be followed by a case study using a descriptive historical approach. The case study reviews developments as well as past land use and transportation studies for the study area. The fourth step involves an interpretation of the information provided in the case study in light of the literature review. The area chosen for the case study is the Greater Vancouver Regional District's North East Sector. This Sector has experienced accelerated development and an increasing 111 population dependant upon the automobile for mobility. Low density land use, has created automobile dependent development, which make an automobile a necessity. A large percentage of the workforce in the area has to commute to other areas. Numerous studies have been commissioned to find solutions to the North East Sector's transportation problems. Despite the realization of the causes of traffic congestion, the solutions presented in the studies have not been comprehensively implemented to achieve workable results. There were two major findings of this study. The first is that planners and decision makers are aware of the relationship between land use and transportation planning. The second is the fragmentation of authority for different aspects of land use and transportation has frustrated attempts to resolve traffic congestion, through a fragmenting of the planning and decision making process.

An examination of developments between 1970-1990 demonstrate a substantial restructuring of relations between the state and nonprofit societies within Vancouver's mental health system. While helping to establish and support the growth of nonprofit societies, the state, during the 1970's, maintained a "hands off" relationship with the nonprofit sector. Throughout the 1980's and early 1990's, state intervention into the affairs and aspirations of nonprofit societies dramatically increased, primarily through the establishment of corporatist arrangements. Such arrangements necessitated the establishment of non-aligned intermediary organizations to regulate and monitor activities within the nonprofit sector. The establishment and development of nonprofit societies and the subsequent restructuring of relations between the state and nonprofit societies is explored through an examination of corporatism. This examination includes a detailed case study of two nonprofit societies operating in the city of Vancouver between 1972 to the present, the Coast Foundation Society and The Greater Vancouver Mental Health Services Society. The methodology utilized includes analysis of secondary data, archival and documentary materials, and personal interviews with a number of key informants previously or currently employed within the mental health system. Analytic themes from the literature on pluralism and corporatism, along with Claus Offe's theoretical examination of state-interest group relations, are used to explain the construction of corporatism during this period. While the inquiry provides a detailed account of developments within Vancouver's mental health system through a case study approach, broader issues are also explored. The impact of macro economic changes, especially the effect of the recessionary period during the 1970's, is crucial in understanding changing state priorities and the subsequent construction of corporatism. An understanding, therefore, of the way in which corporatism relates to the broader reconstruction of consensus within late capitalist societies is an important focus of this study. / Arts, Faculty of / Sociology, Department of / Graduate