Creating subdivisions: The land assembly program in Kingston, Ontario, 1950-1962.

Abstract

In Kingston, Ontario between 1950 and 1962, the land assembly program, which involved all three levels of the Canadian Federal system, generated nearly six hundred fully serviced lots arranged in two subdividisons named Polson Park and Calvin Park. These lots were priced specifically for the middle income market Meanwhile, the public housing program, which also involved all three levels of the Canadian Federal system, built only seventy-one low cost rental units. This total must be considered insufficient when compared to the overall demand for affordable housing. This thesis uses a case study approach to examine the dynamics, at the local level, behind the intergovernmental land assembly program. The first chapter, defines terms, examines various theoretical perspectives and provides a cross-cultural comparison between of the housing policies of Canada, Great Britain, and the United States. The succeeding chapters focus on the formation of the program at the upper echelons of the federal and provincial bureaucracies, two aborted land assembly projects in Kingston and the two successful projects. The land assembly program was very much a reflection of the Canadian socio-economic and political attitudes of the 1950's.