Editors: Gloria Ohland & Shelley Poticha (Reconnecting America, 2006)
On June 27, 1890, an event occurred in the little boom town of Vancouver that altered its destiny forever. Two parallel rails, little more that three miles (5 kilmeters) long, wound past Burrard Inlet’s squatters and wooden shacks, part tree stumps and plank roads, and beyond West End mansions. Mere strips of steel, they passed seven lumber mills, dozens of hotels and three chartered banks and ran almost up to the original wooden Granville Street Bridge. The first car to run on these rail lines introduced a remarkable services that this port town had ever seen – one only newly available even in New York – public transit. – Vancouver’s Glory Years: Public Transit 1890 – 1915
No words more accurately describe the unassuming yet colossal advent of the streetcar to Vancouver than those written above by Heather Conn and Henry Ewert. Streetcars in Vancouver – and in cities from coast to coast – were revolutionary and powerful shapers of the urban environment. And despite there decline beginning in the 1920’s, a renaissance has already begun in urban centers across the continent.
Yet for all the increasing interest to implement this form of public transit, there continues to be resistance from all sorts of directions – political and otherwise. That makes books such as Street Smarts: Streetcars and cities in the Twenty-First Century all the more important. Self-published by Reconnecting America – a national non-profit organization working to integrate transportation systems and the communities they serve, with the goal of generating lasting public and private returns while giving communities more housing and mobility options – this book offers readers a comprehensive and holistic look at streetcars.
Written as a series of short, informative essays/stories focusing on a variety of specific topics concerning streetcars, this book is truly a great resource for any individuals or communities interested in learning about the topic. Individual topics range from the basics – i.e. what is a streetcar and how does it differ from other forms of rail-supported public transportation – to a history of streetcar systems in America; city planning for streetcar implementation to financial and economic incentives to creating this type public transit; a developer’s point of view on streetcars to trackway design.
As if this were not enough, case studies for four different cities that range in size – San Francisco, Tampa, Kenosha and Little Rock – are described with hard data on issues such as costs on-hand. These concise and interesting essays are extremely important and demonstrate that communities of all sizes and demographics can support this type of transit.
Although there is a little bit of overlap across the essays – an issue common to this type of book – it is negligible in comparison to the new content given. This is achieved through keeping each piece succinct and to-the-point.
Also, while there are certain issues that are not very relevant in the Canadian context – the pieces on federal funding, in particular – the overall content of the book is well worth the read. Within, there is something to satisfy anybody with an enthusiasm for streetcars – from lobbyists and activists to transit geeks. In this sense, Street Smart is the a powerful weapon against the ignorance and conservatism that continues to prevent the creation of whole communities.
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Erick Villagomez is one of the founding editors at Spacing Vancouver. He is also an educator, independent researcher and designer with personal and professional interests in the urban landscapes. His private practice – Metis Design|Build – is an innovative practice dedicated to a collaborative and ecologically responsible approach to the design and construction of places.