The People and the Bay

A Social and Environmental History of Hamilton Harbour

By Nancy B. Bouchier & Ken Cruikshank
Categories: History, Canadian History, Social Sciences, Sociology, Urban Studies, Planning & Architecture, Planning (urban & Regional)
Series: Nature | History | Society
Publisher: UBC Press
Hardcover : 9780774830416, 344 pages, January 2016
Paperback : 9780774830423, 344 pages, July 2016
Ebook (PDF) : 9780774830430, 344 pages, January 2016
Ebook (EPUB) : 9780774830447, 344 pages, January 2016
Ebook (MobiPocket) : 9780774830454, 344 pages, October 2016

Table of contents

Foreword: Down by the Bay / Graeme Wynn

 

Introduction: Whose Harbour?

 

1 Civilizing Nature: Community Property Transformed, 1823–95

 

2 Conserving Nature: The Education of John William Kerr, 1864–88

 

3 Boosting Nature: The Contradictions of Industrial Promotion, 1892–1932

 

4 Organizing Nature: The Search for Recreational Order, 1900–30

 

5 Planning Nature: The Waterfront Legacy of T.B McQuesten, 1917–40

 

6 Confining Nature: The Bay as Harbour, 1931–59

 

7 Unchaining Nature: Gillian Simmons’s Backyard, 1958–85

 

8 Remediating Nature: Hamilton Harbour as an Area of Concern, 1981–2015

 

Conclusion: Choosing Nature

 

Notes; Index

This engaging history brings to life the personalities and power struggles that shaped how Hamiltonians used their harbour and, in the process, raises broader questions about the relationship between people and nature.

Description

This book explores the complicated relationship between Hamilton Harbour and the people who came to reside on its shores. From the time of European settlement through to Hamilton’s rise as an industrial city, townsfolk struggled with nature, and with one another, to champion their vision of “the bay” as a place to live, work, and play. The authors bring to life the personalities and power struggles, drawing on a rich collection of archival materials. Along the way, they challenge readers to consider how moral and political choices being made about the natural world today will shape the cities of tomorrow.