In 1993, facing a future of escalating land-use controversies and a less than sympathetic public attitude towards mining, major corporations in the British Columbia mining industry and the provincial government invested in a public education project: Vancouver's Science World's Mine Games exhibit. This thesis will examine two pedagogical highlights of the Mine Games exhibit promoted by Science World and its sponsors. They are the interactivity of the exhibit (as evidenced by the hands-on stations and the computer games) and the decision-making or 'consensus-building' process experienced in the simulated town-meeting, Hotseat! One of the virtues of an exhibition that explicitly makes a case for its merits and attempts to tell an important story is that it encourages debate and makes possible the suggestion of other stories. In this thesis, I critique Mine Games on the claims it has made for itself. The thesis adopts a comparative approach, contrasting the pedagogical goals and content of the Mine Games exhibit with school based mining curriculum. I argue that the narrative and museological conventions of the exhibit reveal the story of Mine Games for what it is — a specific, comedic story that excludes other stories. Hidden under the facade of high-tech displays and computer games is a traditional approach used both in schools and museums to exercise control and deliver a non-threatening message: environmental controversies are resolvable, all it takes is reasoned compromise.

High-technology and information technology industries represent a growing component of 'new economy' sector activities. Cities around the world often perceive these industrial and commercial activities to be high-growth in nature, bringing economic advantages and benefits to the cities where they are situated within. Concentration of hightechnology and information technology economic activity in cities has resulted in the formation of localstrategies and related policy initiatives aimed at attracting these sector industries into designated areas. Initial problems that ensued revolved around questioning the legitimacy, effectiveness and appropriateness of implementing these policy initiatives, which were characteristic of 'induced' development. Impacts on broader issues regarding the city's space-economy and structure were often not taken into account in these implemented high-technology led strategies and policies. This thesis responds to these problems by addressing the planning imperatives of initiating high-technology sector led development in urban environments. False Creek Flats was the primary case study examined in this thesis. Due to the proximity of the False Creek Flats site to Vancouver's metropolitan core, a research concentration on the inner-city is carried throughout the thesis. The research objectives and question are aimed at examining challenges posed to planning by following a particular policy and city initiated development path for high-technology sector concentration in False Creek Flats. Objectives are focused around the purpose of conducting a policy analysis on the process and initiatives for high-technology policy formation that occurred over the past decade in False Creek Flats. The research methodology consisted of gathering relevant and informing data and theories through an academic literature review. Information derived from editorial sources was also utilized to situate issues directly related to the primary case study. City of Vancouver policies, documents and sources represented a majority of the primary sources pertaining to the policy analysis of the high-technology framework for False Creek Flats. An internship conducted with the City of Vancouver Central Area Planning Division contributed to gaining access to information and planning perspective on the Flats high-technology led strategy. The stated imperatives to planning are based on False Creek Flats high-technology led strategy's classification as a primarily induced development. Imperatives exhibited in the policy framework formation and details are the importance of the proactive and assertive stance taken by the City of Vancouver and Planning Department. Flexibility, evolution and innovation to formulate new planning responses to deal with the problems and opportunities of implementing high-technology initiatives in the Flats were found to be essential. Planning implications for this case study include the ability to examine the issues from a broader perspective to take into account ramifications on existing city policy, structure and function. These planning elements are going to be critical in maintaining the original guiding principles, vision and goals for high-technology sector concentration in False Creek Flats.

This thesis explores the opportunities and constraints to community based planning for neighbourhood conservation in the context of an expanding urban core, using the Mole Hill planning process and draft Concept Plan as a case study. In response to previous public processes, and increasing community activism against top-down revitalization, City of Vancouver Planning Staff were directed in April 1996, to undertake a participatory planning process in order to develop conservation strategies for Mole Hill which balance physical, social, environmental and economic goals. Drawing from a broad range of literature on urban conservation and post-industrial urban change, this thesis begins by providing a rationale for area-based urban conservation within the context of post-war North American and European cities. Further, it outlines some of the conflicts arising from conservation, primarily those conflicts relating to post-war economic restructuring and corresponding socio-economic changes in inner cities specifically, gentrification. The thesis uses cases from inner city communities in Vancouver and New York to examine contemporary trends in neighbourhood conservation, and to explore those elements which contribute to a locally focused and sustainable conservation and revitalization strategy. Three characteristics of successful neighbourhood conservation schemes are abstracted by way of a literature review and are subsequently used as a framework to analyse the Mole Hill case study. These characteristics are: a focus on local involvement; multi-dimensional programs and policies; and an ongoing collaborative approach. The case study reveals the complex and contentious nature of planning for conservation within an expanding urban context. The multiplicity of players, the exigency of issues, the amount and availability of resources, and the often adversarial positions demonstrate the fragmented and complex quality of planning in this context. The study found that in Mole Hill a reliance on top-down methods for conflict negotiation and decision making undermined the effectiveness of the community based model and ultimately led to a fractured set of policies and principles for the neighbourhood. Tensions which were created by a misapplication of power resulted in a polarization between a "Staff' position and a "Working Group" position, thus diluting the idea of a consensus based, collaborative process. Despite these setbacks, a multi-agency and multi-interest approach to the process achieved a number of positive principles and strategies which attempt to address the site as a comprehensive whole, bringing the goals of heritage conservation closer to those of housing and community needs. Finally, the case showed that by drawing on existing community knowledge and expertise the process was able to generate innovative ideas such as those which involve local reinvestment and community economic development initiatives which are directed at social and physical improvement. These ideas challenge traditional notions of conservation and revitalization — which often rely on outside capital investment and /or economic incentives to support conservation — and provide a foundation for more culturally appropriate and sustainable strategies for community based neighbourhood conservation.

For my graduation project, I endeavored to meet the challenge of designing affordable residences for the distinct population of single parent families within a heterogeneous urban environment. Issues of family, house and community were explored in order to ascertain how the needs of this particular group differed from that of the typical nuclear family. Single parents in general have excessive demands made on their time and energy and feel a greater lack of support when attempting to meet these demands. Often times involvement with another adult is either transitory or of a very limited nature. Therefore they must be more self-reliant than usual. The provision of child-care and supervision can be very difficult to accommodate in any family situation and is even more pronounced for the single parent. Other than financial worries, they may also experience a sense of isolation and loneliness. The presence of children does not compensate for the lack of adult companionship and emotional support that most adults need. Also, because a single parent often has to make frequent stops on the way to and from work or school picking up children from child care, shopping for groceries, etc., transportation and amenities ideally should be extremely accessible. Provision of convenient child care services, proximity to work, an affordable and secure environment, accessible social and support services and minimal housekeeping and maintenance responsibilities are but a few of the necessities that the single parent requires in order to attain a reasonable quality of life. Single parent's require more than just shelter. They need a supportive community as well. The site that was ultimately selected to accommodate the needs of this particular group was a half city block situated between 8th and 9th Avenue and Sasamat and Trimble Street in Point Grey, Vancouver. Amenities such as elementary and secondary schools, churches, shopping, transit routes, parks and access to downtown were primary considerations for this site selection. Daycare, teen centre, corner store, guest suites, rentable community space, office space and storage needed to be accommodated on site to address the missing amenities within the community, as well as becoming a means in which to offer something to the community in order to soften the political nature involved with densifying the area. A standard grid of 10m/35m was conformed to within the urban fabric, with the continuation of the lane as a means of relegating parking to the inner core, freeing up the Street from extra traffic. The context of single family homes was recognized with respect to the character of the neighbourhood. Actual density was doubled by 1) utilizing a smaller setback of 4-6m from the sidewalk, 2) duplexing the Street dwellings in a subversive manner 3) occupying the attic space & 4) use of a lanehouse typology whereby the parking was accommodated for while at the same time inhabiting the area with one and two bedroom homes. This facilitated a heterogeneous environment with extended family members, singles, couples or single parents with one child ideally occupying these residences and activating the lane. All residences have separate entrances as well as private outdoor space, with each residence given access to at least one parking space. Inner pedestrian lanes were conceived of in order to heighten the possibility of socialization occurring among the immediate residents, as well as increasing the accessibility to each residence, parking space and garbage/recycling area. Nodes occur between clusters of four dwellings to allow for gathering, playing and pathway undulation. Familiarity of the site within the neighbourhood would help to activate the nostalgic walk through the site in recognition of the existing diagonal path with its spectacular view of Vancouver's skyline. Public amenities were relegated to the west end of the site where a link could occur with the commercially active 10th Avenue and Safeway. Each pedestrian path feeds onto this public space. Because the site has a .75m/10m drop in elevation, this slope was utilized as a means to sculpt the outdoor space in order to define a given area..ie, a node may be carved with a stairwell on either end as a means to define the space. Brick planters were utilized as buffering as well as greening devices. Please see the Architecture reading room in the basement of Laserre, U.B.C. for the written thesis and colour details.

Consideration of the significance of religious institutions in the experience of immigrant settlement is, at best, marginalized in immigration and church history literature. The limited amount of research that has been carried out is limited in time frame and/or by its lack of consideration of the wider social service functions of the church. It is rarely recognized that for new immigrants, churches can function as critical access routes to the host society or as protective cultural communities. Churches provide stability in unfamiliar territory through the creation of a sense of community, a sense of place and an extended family of support. This research seeks to understand how the church has served the German ethnic and immigrant community; how the church has aided cultural preservation as well as immigrant integration; and finally, how some churches have re-defined themselves in the face of member 'assimilation,' generational changes and neighbourhood transition. For some churches, their mission has been extended beyond their original German ethnic community to local neighbourhood residents, predominantly of Asian origin. Unstructured interviews with over twenty-five church leaders from ten German ethnic churches in Vancouver suggest that for many immigrants, the church provided stability and acted as a centre of social networks through which, for example, employment and housing were found. However, the position of the church in maintaining culture is significantly more complex; often dependent upon various factors including church age and the histories of immigrant congregations. This research demonstrates that churches have significant but generally unrecognized impacts on the immigrant settlement experience and that ethnic churches can, but do not necessarily, play supportive roles in maintaining culture. Churches that have recognized the social changes impacting their congregations have found new models of mission to integrate new immigrant communities.

In research on immigrant enterprise, scholars argue that entrepreneurs mobilize informal support and resources from ethnic affiliations to overcome barriers associated with their immigrant or 'racial' status. The presumed relationship between ethnicity and entrepreneurship is relatively straight forward: immigrant entrepreneurs facing cultural or economic barriers use ethnic resources to propel their economic strategies. This assumption is brought under scrutiny in a study of Chinese Canadian immigrant entrepreneurs in Vancouver, Canada who arrived after 1967, many of whom are skilled professionals, affluent investors, and experienced entrepreneurs. Some have formed corporate ethnic enterprises and many maintain extensive social and commercial ties abroad. What relationship exists between ethnicity and entrepreneurship in this setting? Do these conditions necessitate new approaches or concepts? These questions are explored in the course of the study. Using ethnographic methods, this study examines the changing patterns and composition of Chinese Canadian rmmigrant entrepreneurship and the role of ethnic ties in this process. Consideration is given to the historical precedents and class and cultural politics surrounding the immigration and participation of Chinese Canadian entrepreneurs and workers in the Vancouver economy. The study concludes that existing theory on immigrant enterprise needs move beyond a narrow focus on ethnicity to consider the historical and cultural context of immigrant entrepreneurship.

In 1993, facing a future of escalating land-use controversies and a less than sympathetic public attitude towards mining, major corporations in the British Columbia mining industry and the provincial government invested in a public education project: Vancouver's Science World's Mine Games exhibit. This thesis will examine two pedagogical highlights of the Mine Games exhibit promoted by Science World and its sponsors. They are the interactivity of the exhibit (as evidenced by the hands-on stations and the computer games) and the decision-making or 'consensus-building' process experienced in the simulated town-meeting, Hotseat! One of the virtues of an exhibition that explicitly makes a case for its merits and attempts to tell an important story is that it encourages debate and makes possible the suggestion of other stories. In this thesis, I critique Mine Games on the claims it has made for itself. The thesis adopts a comparative approach, contrasting the pedagogical goals and content of the Mine Games exhibit with school based mining curriculum. I argue that the narrative and museological conventions of the exhibit reveal the story of Mine Games for what it is — a specific, comedic story that excludes other stories. Hidden under the facade of high-tech displays and computer games is a traditional approach used both in schools and museums to exercise control and deliver a non-threatening message: environmental controversies are resolvable, all it takes is reasoned compromise. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

False Creek is a distinctive neighbourhood in the centre of Vancouver where you would expect to see high density, perhaps high rise development; instead you can see a low and medium rise and low density development with large public open space. It contrasts to the nearby Fairview Slopes and the West End. This thesis tries to investigate and explain what made this land development so different from others. In the 1960s, liberal ideology emerged in Canada. Its influence was felt here in Vancouver. It was embraced by the upcoming new "class" of professional, technical and administrative workers. This new liberal ideology gave new meanings to the ideas of "growth" and "progress". It promoted social equity and livability in urban development; its priority was placed on people not property.Vancouver was transforming from an industrial city to a service oriented post-industrial city. A political party founded at this time, The Elector's Action Movement (TEAM), was liberal-oriented and won the municipal election in 1972. Its election co-incided with the False Creek south development. TEAM innovatively administered the development. It broke away from the former administration, the NPA, and innovatively implemented measures to secure a livable and socially mixed community. The implementation of False Creek south in the first two phases was achieved with the commitment of the TEAM City Council and with the blessings from the federal and provincial government. The result is an innovatively designed and socially mixed neighbourhood in downtown Vancouver. What we can see today in False Creek south shore phase I and II is a legacy of what this party achieved in urban development. With the deterioration of economic situation and the return of a conservative movement in the late 70s and early 80s, TEAM faded away from the municipal politics. Conservative NPA was back to the municipal administration. Urban development was left to the private sector to manipulate.The later two phases became profit driven development with very little concern of social issues. To provide a socially mixed community was not an objective in the later phases in False Creek south. The result is high density, high rise development of the later two phases. This thesis investigates the False Creek south shore development in and after TEAM administration; compares the policies of the two administrations, and the perception of the role of the administration during and after TEAM control; examines the demographic and physical design differences in the same development between different phases. This helps to reveal the inter-relationship between urban development and civic politics and provides a valuable insight into the effects of policy and ideology on the nature of urban development. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate

This is a case study of a project focused on organizing community economic development (CED) in the inner-city neighbourhood of Mount Pleasant, in Vancouver. Participant-observation research techniques, combining the roles of organizer and researcher, were used in this exploratory study. The ethnic and cultural diversity of this inner-city neighbourhood, with its various "communities of interest, “presents challenges to CED organization. This study examines these challenges in relation to the process of organizing CED and identifies the relevant factors for determining a community's readiness for CED. Key aspects of the organizing process are explored in depth (e.g., gaining legitimacy within the community, assessing the community’s readiness for CED, determining a development approach, cultivating leadership and developing an organizational base). This study proposes a framework for organizing CED which identifies the major stages, activities and critical factors in organizing CED. The research identifies and discusses the major roles of the organizer and the beliefs and values which guided the organizing process. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

High-technology and information technology industries represent a growing component of 'new economy' sector activities. Cities around the world often perceive these industrial and commercial activities to be high-growth in nature, bringing economic advantages and benefits to the cities where they are situated within. Concentration of hightechnology and information technology economic activity in cities has resulted in the formation of localstrategies and related policy initiatives aimed at attracting these sector industries into designated areas. Initial problems that ensued revolved around questioning the legitimacy, effectiveness and appropriateness of implementing these policy initiatives, which were characteristic of 'induced' development. Impacts on broader issues regarding the city's space-economy and structure were often not taken into account in these implemented high-technology led strategies and policies. This thesis responds to these problems by addressing the planning imperatives of initiating high-technology sector led development in urban environments. False Creek Flats was the primary case study examined in this thesis. Due to the proximity of the False Creek Flats site to Vancouver's metropolitan core, a research concentration on the inner-city is carried throughout the thesis. The research objectives and question are aimed at examining challenges posed to planning by following a particular policy and city initiated development path for high-technology sector concentration in False Creek Flats. Objectives are focused around the purpose of conducting a policy analysis on the process and initiatives for high-technology policy formation that occurred over the past decade in False Creek Flats. The research methodology consisted of gathering relevant and informing data and theories through an academic literature review. Information derived from editorial sources was also utilized to situate issues directly related to the primary case study. City of Vancouver policies, documents and sources represented a majority of the primary sources pertaining to the policy analysis of the high-technology framework for False Creek Flats. An internship conducted with the City of Vancouver Central Area Planning Division contributed to gaining access to information and planning perspective on the Flats high-technology led strategy. The stated imperatives to planning are based on False Creek Flats high-technology led strategy's classification as a primarily induced development. Imperatives exhibited in the policy framework formation and details are the importance of the proactive and assertive stance taken by the City of Vancouver and Planning Department. Flexibility, evolution and innovation to formulate new planning responses to deal with the problems and opportunities of implementing high-technology initiatives in the Flats were found to be essential. Planning implications for this case study include the ability to examine the issues from a broader perspective to take into account ramifications on existing city policy, structure and function. These planning elements are going to be critical in maintaining the original guiding principles, vision and goals for high-technology sector concentration in False Creek Flats. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate