VIDEO about Direct ActionEnvironmentHealthHousingTransportation posted on November 15, 2012 by edoherty
The Tour of Nothing: Vancouver's Freeway That Never Was
The Georgia Viaduct is part of the Vancouver freeway system that local residents and activists brought to a grinding halt. When driving east over the overpass have you ever looked straight ahead and realized that, if successful, this planned freeway would have wiped out hundreds of homes along Union and Prior? John Atkin, Strathcona resident, civic historian and author, leads us on a tour of what's been lost (much of Chinatown and Hogan's Alley), what wasn't built (the freeway), and the consequences for Vancouver and all of Canada.
An important part of this story is the racism that underlay both freeway building and urban renewal in Canada. John also compares the present day Port Mann Bridge / Highway 1 freeway project to the freeway that never was.
The tour ended at the former home of the Chan family, leaders in the fight to stop the freeway, to coincide with the Strathcona Property Owners and Tenants' Association(SPOTA) Mosaic Unveiling and tribute.
Information on tours by John Atkin - www.johnatkin.com
The tour was part of the 2012 Heart of the City Festival and took place on a very rainy Saturday November 3, 2012
The site for the Vancouver local of The Media Co-op has been archived and will no longer be updated. Please visit the main Media Co-op website to learn more about the organization.
Comments
Awareness
Thank You for posting this information.
I've always had this "what the....(head scratch) feeling"???
Like it ends before it begins.
when walking north on Main toward Hastings.
(also 1st and Clark)
Passing by this area of town.
I also never thought of this type of racism so clearly.
Thanks for helping me to be more aware of this history.
Mark
Gentrification
(edit November 17, 2012 to Cambie)
Reminds of the topic of gentrification,
when observing the changes when walking east at the corner of Cambie on Hastings.
I don't live in the area.
But in my opinion there is definitely a push out going on.
Looking forward to learning more.
In Montreal Too!
Similar fights have been fought, and continue to be fought all over. Check out this account from Montreal http://www.mcgilldaily.com/2012/11/reconstruction-of-turcot-interchange-...