Creating a modern countryside : liberalism and land resettlement in British Columbia / James Murton ; foreword by Graeme Wynn.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Murton, James Ernest, 1969-

Series:

Nature, history, society.

Nature, history, society, 1713-6687

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Land use, Rural--British Columbia--History--20th century--Case studies.

Land use, Rural.

Rural renewal--British Columbia--History--20th century--Case studies.

Rural renewal.

Environmental economics--British Columbia--History--20th century--Case studies.

Environmental economics.

Environmental policy--British Columbia.

Environmental policy.

Physical Description:

xxix, 267 p. : ill., maps.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Vancouver : UBC Press, c2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In the early 1900s, British Columbia embarked on a brief but intense effort to manufacture a modern countryside. The government wished to reward veterans of the Great War with new lives: soliders and other settlers would benefit from living in a rural community, considered a more healthy and moral alternative to urban life. But the fundamental reason for the land resettlement project was the rise of progressive or "new liberal" thinking, as reformers advocated an expanded role for the state in guaranteeing the prosperity and economic security of its citizens. This ideological shift pushed the government to intervene directly in the management of not only society but also the natural environment. As most arable, accessible land in British Columbia was already being farmed by 1919, the state had to undertake environmental engineering projects on a scale not yet attempted in the province. Creating a Modern Countryside examines how this process unfolded, identifies its successes and failures, and demonstrates how the human-environment relationship of the early twentieth century shaped the province as it is today.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Illustrations

foreword

Acknowledgments

A Note on Terminology and Units of Measure

Introduction

A Modern Countryside

Liberalism and the Land

Soldiers, Science, and an Alternative Modernity

Where Apples Grow Best

Stump Farms

Creating Order at Sumas

Achieving the Modern Countryside

Back to Work

Patullo's New Deal

Conclusion

Appendix

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 245-257) and index.

ISBN:

0-7748-1853-0

1-282-59355-2

9786612593550

0-7748-5583-5

OCLC:

923445025