In an age of increasing urbanization, rural communities and agricultural lifestyles are quickly disappearing. Many local, pastoral histories have been buried under the new narratives of modern suburban development. Do such places, located along the rural-urban fringe, contain accounts worth memorializing? This thesis is a case study of the Ancaster Meadowlands—a growing neighbourhood within the City of Hamilton, Ontario. It explores the process of suburban growth and uncovers the local history of a landscape. As a narrative, the study traces land-use change over time, displaying the area’s evolution from a site of Neolithic settlement, to an important Loyalist village, and finally to a large suburban neighbourhood with commercial and residential components. Three principal methods are employed: resident interviewing, key informant interviewing, and archival research. Themes elicited in this study include land-use conflict, NIMBYism, real-estate volatility, and the interconnectedness of politicians and developers. Given that there are few case studies of contemporary suburban development, this study provides a rare illustration of the multi-faceted process of expansion around a Canadian city while also supplying a historical account of local importance. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

<p> An analysis was performed using LANDSAT Thematic Mapper digital imagery to determine the feasibility of fine scale vegetation classification in southern Ontario. </p> <p> MICROPIPS, an image processing program, was used to analyse the Thematic Mapper data, based on spectral response patterns of different land cover types. Final classified images were compared with vegetation classifications as determined by the Royal Botanical Gardens, in Hamilton, Ontario. </p> <p> It was concluded, that it was possible to classify land cover types using MICROPIPS, but only at a general level. Thus, it was not feasible to classify vegetation on a fine scale. </p> / Thesis / Candidate in Philosophy

The study begins with a general analysis of the ethnic composition of Hamilton's population and the changes which this composition has undergone since the beginning of the present century. The major part of the study then selects the most ethnically diverse sector of · the city, namely the Barton Street region, and subjects it to a detailed examination over a forty year period, using cross-sections of the years 1921, 1941 and 1961. For each year an analysis is made of the residential distribution of individual ethnic groups there, and the number and kind of their associated services and institutions. The area is then divided into regions and sub-regions of ethnicity for each of these years. Finally the changes occurring in the areal extent and ethnic content of such regions over the period of study are discussed and some explanations offered for them. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

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