Creeping conformity
Subtitle: how Canada became suburban, 1900-1960
By: Richard Harris.
Series: Themes in Canadian history ;; 7
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Toronto; Buffalo
Language: eng
Number of pages: 204
Subjects: Suburbs -- Canada -- History.; Suburban life -- Canada -- History.; Housing policy -- Canada -- History.; Banlieues -- Canada -- Histoire.; Vie de la banlieue -- Canada -- Histoire.; Logement -- Politique gouvernementale -- Canada -- Histoire.
Description: "Creeping Conformity, the first history of suburbanization in Canada, provides a geographical perspective - both physical and social - on Canada's suburban past. Shaped by internal and external migration, decentralization of employment, and increased use of the streetcar and then the automobile, the rise of the suburb held great social promise, reflecting the aspirations of Canadian families for more domestic space and home ownership." "After 1945, however, the suburbs became stereotyped as generic, physically standardized, and socially conformist places. By 1960 they had grown further away - physically and culturally - from their respective parent cities, and brought unanticipated social and environmental consequences. Government intervention also played a key role, encouraging mortgage indebtedness, amortization, and building and subdivision regulations to become the suburban norm. Suburban homes became less affordable and more standardized, and for the first time, Canadian commentators began to speak disdainfully of 'the suburbs,' or simply 'suburbia.' Creeping Conformity traces how these perceptions emerged to reflect a new suburban reality."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references: p. [175]-192.
Includes index.
Table of contents: title: A place and a people; title: Cities and suburbs; title: The making of suburban diversity, 1900-1929; title: The growing influence of the state; title: The rise of the corporate suburb, 1945-1960; title: Creeping conformity?