For nearly a quarter-century, from 1940 through 1963, Vancouver’s Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) mounted annual summer seasons of musical theatre in Malkin Bowl, a converted bandshell in Stanley Park. By the early 1950s, TUTS, now a fully-professional company, had become an enormous popular and financial success, attracting crowds of up to 25,000 per week. For various reasons, the company closed down in 1963, yet so ingrained in Vancouver's cultural fabric had TUTS become, that in 1980 an amateur organization re-appropriated the name for its own summer musical productions in Malkin Bowl. Despite its acknowledged importance in Canadian theatre history, very little research has been devoted to this remarkable company. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to document the early history of TUTS, in particular the years 1940 through 1949 when TUTS was directly funded by the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation and dominated by the colourful, if somewhat erratic, personality of its general manager, Gordon Hilker. Material for the thesis was obtained primarily through sources located at the City of Vancouver Archives, supplemented by newspaper clippings and by personal interviews. Archival matter included programs, handbills, photographs, and Park Board records, especially minute books and correspondence files. This study will examine the circumstances leading to the creation and subsequent development of TUTS as a civic enterprise. Although the work is designed to be comprehensive, certain topics receive special attention: the nature of the programming; the evolution and training of Canadian talent; the development of a professional company; political factionalism in the elected Park Board; and the relationship between Hilker and the Park Board which varied from mutual admiration to mutual loathing. Particularly analyzed are the pivotal events of 1949 that resulted in a complete change of ownership and management. / Arts, Faculty of / Theatre and Film, Department of / Graduate

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Thesis (D.W.S.)--Institute for Worship Studies, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 186-190).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2003. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 123-129).

Self-help groups have emerged as a system of care for groups of people sharing a common problem or condition. Most of the interest in research came from professionals in mental health and social services. Educators have traditionally viewed self-help groups as outside their domain. The focus of this study is the phenomenon of personal change within self-help groups. This is viewed as “learning with peers.” The subject of the study was HOPE Cancer Health Centre, a non-profit community based self-help organization in Vancouver, B.C. Appropriate to the study of phenomena in their natural surroundings, data collection methods were qualitative in nature. Fourteen in-depth interviews were carried out with members and leaders of the self-help group. Two introductory workshops were attended for participant observation and several pertinent documents were reviewed. A full description of HOPE Cancer Health Centre as a self-help group and as a context for adult learning was developed. To clarify the description of HOPE, a framework of characteristics of self-help groups was developed. It was used to organize data collection and analysis. Compilation and analysis of the findings created a description of HOPE that adds to the understanding of self-help groups as organizations in a larger system of care provision. It also adds to the understanding of HOPE as an organization with the purpose to assist cancer patients who are interested in actively participating in their cancer treatment and recovery. In order to enhance understanding of adult learning in the context of a selfhelp group, three perspectives from the literature on adult learning were selected for their potential to organize and explain the resulting data. Four important themes emerged from the data on the learning experiences of the members of HOPE. First, the ideology of HOPE, “self as participant in healing,” is the framework of learning and within that frame there are four forms of learning, the forms of transformative learning being the most significant. Second, for the learners of HOPE, the basis of knowledge is their personal experience; therefore, processes of experiential learning are important as well as those of perspective transformation. Third, the affective dimension of the experiential learning process was found to be integral in the process of learning. The fourth theme is “learning with peers,” the innate characteristic of self-help groups. All members interviewed placed high value on their experiences of learning with peers and of learning at HOPE. Meaningful interpretation of the data resulted from application of concepts and theoretical propositions from three perspectives on adult learning: experiential learning, transformative learning and situated learning.

This thesis examines the production of space in Canadian cities since World War II. It is hypothesized that there has been a considerable shift in the city building process (encompassing the fields of planning, architecture and urban design) over the last two decades (1970-1990), and that new types of urban landscapes are being created, often very different than those built during the immediate post-war era (1950-1970). This shift is often described in academic literature as the move from the modern to the postmodern city. The approach adopted in the thesis is to examine the modern postmodern distinction from a design perspective. Academic literature in planning, geography and architecture, and observations from Canadian urban landscapes were sources used to gather information on the modern/postmodern distinction. These sources suggest that modern design principles produced functional landscapes (where form follows function), and that postmodern design principles are creating spaces that are both functional and "funky". Seven specific design principles are useful in describing the modern/postmodern distinction: the level of diversity, the level of exteriorization, the relation to nature, the level of decoration, the relation to urban history, the relation to urban context, and the scale of development. A case study of plans for downtown Vancouver since World War II was used to verify the findings from the literature and observations from Canadian urban landscapes. Two plans were chosen from the modern era (1956 and 1964 reports) and two from the postmodern era (1974 and 1991 reports). Four of the seven shifts in design principles were supported, and a further two were in evidence, though only in an implicit manner. The case study thus upholds the findings derived from the literature and observations from Canadian urban landscapes. It is suggested that the understanding of the shift from modern to postmodern design principles will help planners gain a better grasp on the current planning context, and hence be better suited to plan in an effective manner in today's "postmodern" world.

Urban centres around the world are experiencing the transition to what has been described as the ‘post-industrial’ economy, marked by the shift from traditional modes of industrial organization and production to new forms of activity, such as services and high technology industries. The changing nature of capital accumulation, urban space, industrial activities, and modes of economic organization have placed existing systems of urban and regional planning, zoning, and land use in doubt. As the urban area experiences the transition to the post-industrial era, the requirements for industrial activity in the city change, placing pressures on existing industrial land. In the initial stages of city development, a high level of traditional industrial activity is essential to provide the goods and services required for growth. As time passes,-the traditional industries appear less essential to the future growth of the city, and the emergent service oriented activities assume a more dominant role. This thesis will examine an alternative theoretical basis for planning theory and practice, and outline the current trends and patterns in industrial change through the examination of the restructuring responses in a ‘second order’ urban centre: Vancouver, British Columbia. Based on an examination of current theory regarding industrial change, a discussion of a series of zoning strategies suitable for planning industrial change will be presented.

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The City of Vancouver has led North American cities in commemorating Modern heritage. In 1990, City of Vancouver planners initiated the Recent Landmarks study, thus launching a progressive, specialized program aimed at documenting and conserving the city's post-war architecture. While this program has raised awareness and catalogued a large stock of Modern resources, few of the identified buildings have been protected with legal heritage designation. Thus it seemed appropriate to explore Vancouver's Recent Landmarks program in this thesis and assemble comparative information (from other jurisdictions) against which to measure it. Thus the primary purpose of this thesis is to point to contemporary heritage conservation initiatives and programs in North America that are specifically concerned with twentieth-century buildings, in order to inform heritage planning in Vancouver. The secondary purpose is to amplify current efforts to broaden and redefine the notion of structural heritage to include twentieth-century work. This thesis surveyed representatives (i.e. civic planning or cultural/landmark Department staff, and representatives of local chapters of DOCOMOMO, the international organization formed to document and conserve the works of the Modern movement) in Toronto, Victoria, New York, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. The results of the thesis show that by 1999, all but one of the five surveyed North American municipalities had addressed the issue of Modern heritage. However none of the consulted cities had developed distinct programs to address this resource. For example, while several cities reported listing Modern buildings on their heritage inventories, none of the municipalities canvassed reported the development of studies or inventories that were focused on post-war landmarks. Thus from this information, it appears that the Recent Landmarks initiative in Vancouver remains quite exceptional. This program has identified several (and spurred the designation of some) significant Modern buildings, stimulated the creation of reports and studies, and made strong attempts to engage the public. In sum, the results gleaned from this thesis survey show that the Recent Landmarks initiative remains a leader in the specialized realm of heritage conservation for Modern architecture, and that many North American cities have yet to match Vancouver's efforts.

This thesis examines the possibility of retaining, redesigning, and integrating existing farm and forestlands within the proposed South Campus community development at the University of British Columbia (UBC). The central tenant of my thesis is, given the importance of agriculture in the development of human culture and the UBC Point Grey Campus, and the vital role it will play in the 21st Century, agricultural lands and facilities should be conserved and given a place of importance within the UBC landscape. An explanation is provided on how such an integrative proposal for these lands, collectively known as the UBC South Campus Farm, would support the economic, ecological, and social interests and expectations of the University, and the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD), while providing an exciting learning and living environment for students, faculty staff and community members. An alternative proposal for the South Campus Farm and the South Campus community is provided that supports the stated interests of the University and the GVRD. This is accomplished through a careful assessment of the cultural and biophysical features of the South Campus lands and the subsequent development and application of a regenerative design process applied within a fourfold framework based on the concepts of ecology, economy, integrity and beauty. The final design proposal is compared and evaluated against the current situation and the University development plans.