Creeping Conformity; the first history of suburbanization in Canada; provides a geographical perspective - both physical and social - on Canadas suburban past. Shaped by internal and external migration; decentralization of employment; and increased use of the streetcar and then the automobile; the rise of the suburb held great social promise; reflecting the aspirations of Canadian families for more domestic space and home ownership.After 1945 however; the suburbs became stereotyped as generic; physically standardized; and socially conformist places. By 1960; they had grown further away - physically and culturally - from their respective parent cities; and brought unanticipated social and environmental consequences. Government intervention also played a key role; encouraging mortgage indebtedness; amortization; and building and subdivision regulations to become the suburban norm. Suburban homes became less affordable and more standardized; and for the first time; Canadian commentators began to speak disdainfully of the suburbs; or simply suburbia. Creeping Conformity traces how these perceptions emerged to reflect a new suburban reality.
2014-11-24 2014-11-24File Name: B00T8VNZRM
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Surprisingly Well DoneBy Joshua KoppelAs a Chicago historian and a Hyde Park resident; I had to take a look at this book. In general; I am often disappointed in the Arcadia Press books. They are often little more than a bad picture book. But this is possibly one of the best in the Chicago series.Hyde Park is a community that has just celebrated 150 years (in 2003). For more than 100 of those years it has been part of Chicago.Hyde Park is the home of the University of Chicago; the Museum of Science and Industry and the site of the 1893 Worlds Columbian Exposition (recent building in the area uncovered the footings for the original Ferris Wheel). As such; the community has had a long and rich history.I do not know who Leslie Hudson is (no biography in the book); but she obviously did her homework and research. The post card images have been captioned with detailed information. The book itself is divided into thematic sections with the cards sorted into a historical order.I was a little disappointed in the sparseness of the Sans Souci material (on of Chicagos first amusement parks) as there are many wonderful post cards from there. There were also some other nuggets I was sorry to see missing (i.e. a hotel that suffered after it was recommended by the ...); but overall I was very pleased by the content and the thoroughness of much of the research.A fine book for fans of Chicago history as well as fans of Hyde Park.
