Browse "Urban Affairs"

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City Beautiful Movement

Some historians have noted that the City Beautiful Movement in Canada was hampered by the lack of an integrated philosophy and the absence of an articulate national spokesperson. However, the amateur side of the movement was lively and active on the local scene.

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Dam

A dam is a structure built across a waterway to control or stop the flow of water. This is called impounding the flow of water. Dams can be built by animals, such as beavers, or constructed by humans. In some cases, they are even formed by natural geological forces.

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Environmental Impact Assessment

Environmental Impact Assessment An environmental impact assessment is a systematic analysis of the potential impacts of proposed development projects on the natural and human environment (seeSOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT), for identifying measures to prevent or minimize impacts prior to major decisions being taken and project commitments made. Legislation Environmental impact assessment (EIA) originated in the United States under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970 and is now among the most widely...

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Montreal Metro

The Montreal metro opened on 14 October 1966. The second Canadian subway system after Toronto’s, which opened in 1954, the Montreal metro was the first subway in North America to run on rubber tires instead of metal wheels. Extensions to the Montreal metro were built on Montreal Island over the two decades after it opened, and then to the city of Laval, on the island of Île Jésus, during the 2000s. The system runs entirely underground, and each station has a distinct architecture and design. The Montreal metro consists of four lines running a total of 71 km and serving 68 stations. In 2018, its passengers made more than 383 million trips.

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Pollution

Pollution can be defined as the release of any material, energy or organism that may cause immediate or long-term harmful effects to the natural ENVIRONMENT. Pollution was viewed initially as the unsightly mess or visible environmental damage resulting from careless disposal of various materials.

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Resource Towns in Canada

Resource towns are small, isolated communities built around resource-based industries and transportation. They include mining towns, mill towns, railway towns and fishing villages. Resource development has long been a key factor in shaping the settlement and growth of communities. Some scholars have argued that all Canadian urban growth depends on the production of natural resources. (See also Staple Thesis.) Resource towns have been important agents in this production process. Because they depend on single industries, the economies of resource towns are often unstable.

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Sustainability in Canada

Sustainability is the ability of the biosphere, or of a certain resource or practice, to persist in a state of balance over the long term. The concept of sustainability also includes things humans can do to preserve such a balance. Sustainable development, for instance, pairs such actions with growth. It aims to meet the needs of the present while ensuring that future people will be able to meet their needs.

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Sustainable Development

Sustainable development has been defined by the United Nations (UN) as development that “meets the needs of the present” while ensuring the future sustainability of the planet, its people and its resources. Meeting these needs often requires balancing three key features of sustainable development: environmental protection, economic growth and social inclusion. The goals of sustainable development are interconnected. The most successful sustainable development projects will include environmental, economic and social considerations in their final plan. These considerations must include the free, prior and informed consent of any Indigenous groups impacted by a sustainable development project.

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Toronto Feature: Hurricane Hazel

This article is from our Toronto Feature series. Features from past programs are not updated. Hurricane Hazel was one of the most devastating and unpredictable tropical storms of the 20th century. It was first identified on 5 October 1954, in the Caribbean, where it smashed into Haiti and then battered the Carolinas. The storm struck Toronto on 15 October with winds of 124 km/h and record rainfall.

Macleans

Toronto's Record Snowstorm

This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on January 25, 1999. Partner content is not updated. As a storm raged outside, the constantly ringing phones went unanswered at Environment Canada’s Toronto offices last Thursday. Like many other workplaces in the city, it was shut down - by the worst series of blizzards ever to strike Toronto.

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