Town and Crown: An Illustrated History of Canada's Capital

摘要

Town and Crown: An Illustrated History of Canada's Capital covers the rise of Canada's c apital, Ottawa, and its surrounding region from a wild landscape of dense forests, rivers and waterfalls in the 1800s to the modern heart of the nation. Despite the book's title, this is more than just a typical illustrated history. While it is broad enough to appeal to a generalist audience, the core of the book is concerned with community and regional planning. Drawing on decades of academic research, the author conceptualises the drivers of the planning and development of Ottawa and its surroundings as a consistent struggle between the interests of the ' Town', the local city scale, and the 'Crown', the national federal government of Canada. This provides a unique twist to the development of an urban area that only a limited number of cities, such as Washington, DC, Canberra and Brasilia, can lay claim to that is, the planning of a capital city that must epitomise the hopes and dreams of an entire country while also addressing the needs and desires of those who call it home.