Whose history do heritage houses preserve, and how do they shape our cities?
CBC
This story is part of Uytae Lee's Stories About Here, an original series with the CBC Creator Network. You can watch every episode of this series on CBC Gem.
In 2012, the owners of the Walkem House in Vancouver filed an application to tear it down.
Built in 1913, the house is a fine example of the Arts and Crafts architecture movement and quite possibly "one of the most important residential commissions undertaken by [architect] R. Mackay Fripp," according to Heritage Vancouver.
So the local government moved to protect the building, which led to the owners suing the city in a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
The building was saved. But there's a bigger story here — one about the fate of old neighbourhoods as a city develops.
And I feel very conflicted about it.
As cities grow, old neighbourhoods often face pressure to redevelop so newer, bigger buildings can be created.
One way to stop this from happening is to create a heritage conservation area — an entire neighbourhood where historically relevant buildings are protected from demolition.
In 2015, the Walkem House became part of a newly-created heritage conservation area called First Shaughnessy, filled with well-preserved homes that once belonged to Vancouver's elite, which also serve as some of the best examples of the architecture of their era.
In the last couple decades, heritage conservation areas have popped up all over Canada: Armstrong's Point in Winnipeg, Rosedale in Toronto and Westmount in Edmonton, to name a few. These are areas that have been protected by law, where it is illegal to tear down buildings and replace them.
But there are some problems with this.
Protecting a neighbourhood in the middle of a city is kind of bizarre in an era of rental crises and housing crunches. There are parts of Shaughnessy that have a population density of about 1,100 people per square kilometre, while just across the street are neighbourhoods with almost 17 times that amount. In fact, the population of First Shaughnessy has been decreasing over the last few decades.
But what makes a place worth protecting?
The Rachel Notley government's consumer carbon tax wound up becoming a weapon the UCP wielded to drum the Alberta NDP out of office. But that levy-and-repayment program, and the wide-ranging "climate leadership plan" around it, also stood as the NDP's boldest, provincial-reputation-altering move in their single-term tenure.