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.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/6584 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Proft, Joanne |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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