Arbor Day

The City Beautiful movement

The years between 1870 and The First World War (1914–1918) brought major changes to Canadian society by way of more cities and more factories. The City Beautiful movement, which originated in the United States, addressed declining living conditions and the poor appearance of cities.

Supporters of City Beautiful believed that the living environment directly affected social behaviour. Slums and industrial pollution were both a health hazard and an eyesore. City Beautiful promoted public squares and parks connected by broad tree-lined boulevards. These boulevards would provide not only useful routes for transportation but also visually pleasing green space.

Public art and architecture also played a role. Civic buildings, constructed in the neo-classical style, brought about confidence in government and society. Local examples that can be seen today are the Vancouver Art Gallery and the University of British Columbia campus with its tree-lined pedestrian walkways.

These ideals reflected John Davidson’s own religious beliefs regarding natural theology. When earlier settlers transformed regions of temperate, old-growth rainforest into the urban area called Vancouver, they removed all sizeable plant life, which resulted in a mess of huge stumps and eroding slopes and schoolyards that resembled “a barracks in a desert.” This worried the British settlers, who believed that “slovenly streets betoken a slovenly populace” (untidy streets are a sign of untidy people).

Davidson believed that it was the citizens’ responsibility to plant trees, shrubs and flowers, particularly native species, and that beauty could smother unpleasant social behaviours. To further this cause, he organized and judged children’s garden competitions.