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{{Short description|1950 urban plan for Ottawa, Ontario, Canada}}
{{History of Ottawa}}
The '''General Report on the Plan for the National Capital''' (1946–1950)
The report was ordered by [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]] at the end of the [[Canada in World War II|Second World War]] and was used as the model for the development of the National Capital Region for more than 50 years.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=The Gréber Plan - Ottawa Past & Present|url=http://www.pastottawa.com/greber/|access-date=2021-05-18|website=www.pastottawa.com}}</ref> Parts of Gréber’s Plan were made into reality, and have since contributed to some of Ottawa’s most iconic areas: the landscaping and plaza surrounding the [[National War Memorial (Canada)|National War Memorial]], the design of [[Major's Hill Park]] and [[Confederation Park]], and the reorganization of traffic in the city center.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Gréber Plan (1950) – Beautifying Ottawa for Decades to Follow {{!}} Le plan Gréber (1950) – Embellir Ottawa pour les Décennies à Venir|url=https://bytownmuseum.com/news/the-greber-plan-1950-beautifying-ottawa-for-decades-to-follow-le-plan-greber-1950-embellir-ottawa-pour-les-decennies-a-venir/|access-date=2021-05-18|website=Bytown Museum|date=21 February 2019 |language=en-US}}</ref>
Its main components were:▼
In February 2019, Ottawa mayor [[Jim Watson (Canadian politician)|Jim Watson]] began the process to develop a modern version of the
The report's main components and recommendations were:<ref name=":2">{{Cite web| title = Building Our Capital: A look at the origins of the National Capital Commission| publisher= National Capital Commission |accessdate = 2022-06-18| url = https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=380b33ae20dc4a478799f434f2b31055}}</ref>
[[File:John A Macdonald Parkway - Ottawa - 2003 (DSC00427).jpg|thumb|[[Kichi Zibi Mikan]] (former Macdonald Parkway)]]
* relocating the rails from central Ottawa to create scenic [[parkway]]s▼
**Originally on the outskirts of the city, the railways had been constructed without regard for future urban expansion. Their removal would eliminate rail barriers that divided neighbourhoods, improve safety, and speed traffic circulation.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Powell|first=James|title=Ottawa the Beautiful: The Gréber Report - The Historical Society of Ottawa|url=https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/publications/ottawa-stories/changes-in-the-city-s-landscape/ottawa-the-beautiful-the-greber-report|access-date=2021-05-18|website=www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca|language=en-gb}}</ref> The decision was made to relocate the downtown rail yards to [[Walkley Road]], drastically reducing the number of trains coming into the city’s core. The [[Federal District Commission]] (FDC) arranged a land exchange with both the [[Canadian National Railway]] and the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]], giving them the land for their freight yards, while the FDC would then get all of the railway right-of-ways through Ottawa. Upon the transfer of land, {{Convert|22|acres|sqm|abbr=on}} of prime downtown land became available.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Parks|first=Recreation and Cultural Services Dept|date=2017-02-06|title=The Gréber Report|url=https://ottawa.ca/en/arts-heritage-and-events/city-ottawa-archives/exhibits-and-events/virtual-exhibits/witness-change-visions-andrews-newton-photographs/construction-and-expansion/greber-report|access-date=2021-05-18|website=ottawa.ca|language=en}}</ref>
**Replacing the railways would be a network of highways, urban arteries, and [[Tree line|tree-lined]] parkways. Gréber recommended the construction of two new bridges across the [[Ottawa River]] on the outskirts of the city that would link the Ontario and Quebec highway systems, one in the west over [[Nepean Bay (Canada)|Nepean Bay]] at [[Lemieux Island]], and another in the east over Upper Duck Island.<ref name=":3" />
**Many of the buildings used for government offices in post-war Ottawa were temporary structures that were never intended to be permanent. After discussion, some government departments remained close to [[Parliament Hill]], while others, including many administrative and research facilities were moved to more suburban areas such as [[Tunney's Pasture]]. The temporary buildings were demolished once the new buildings were complete.<ref name=":4" />
* creating a [[green belt]]—what would become the [[Greenbelt (Ottawa)|National Capital Greenbelt]]
**Gréber’s Greenbelt project was designed to serve one main purpose reason: to keep the city contained and prevent [[urban sprawl]].<ref name=":4" />
*extending the existing [[parkway]] networks
[[File:Queensway east of Riverside Drive Ottawa.jpg|thumb|The Queensway]]
**In order to accommodate the influx of traffic into the city, a highway—what would become Ottawa's [[Queensway (Ottawa)|Queensway]]—was built using the [[Right-of-way (transportation)|right-of-ways]] for the CN rail lines.<ref name=":4" />
* expanding and improving [[Gatineau Park]] (formed in 1938)▼
*restoring waterfront lands and preservation of nature
**This included improving the shorelines along the [[Ottawa River]] and returning [[Chaudiere Falls]] and the surrounding islands to their natural state, as well as [[Deindustrialization|de-industrializing]] the islands.<ref name="Gréber">{{cite web|last1=Gréber|first1=Jacques|date=18 November 1949|title=Plan for the National Capital - General Report|url=https://www.townandcrown.ca/historic-plans/plan-for-the-national-capital/|website=TownandCrown.ca}}</ref>
*construction of monumental buildings in downtown
**Gréber recommended the construction of a number of large monumental buildings, including the establishment of a [[National Arts Centre|National Theatre]] on [[Elgin Street (Ottawa)|Elgin Street]], a [[National Gallery of Canada|National Gallery]] on [[Cartier Square Drill Hall|Cartier Square]], and a [[National Library of Canada|National Library]] on [[Sussex Drive|Sussex Street]] (now Sussex Drive).<ref name=":3" />
* planning the region as an integrated system
* making the Capital symbolize the whole country
▲* relocating the rails from central Ottawa
▲* decentralizing government offices
▲* creating the [[Greenbelt (Ottawa)|National Capital Greenbelt]]
▲* expanding [[Gatineau Park]] (formed in 1938)
== History ==
▲In February 2019, Ottawa mayor [[Jim Watson]] began the process to develop a modern version of the Greber Plan, a 25-year plan for the city, anticipating breaching a population of 1 million residents, and foreseeing a part of a megaregion to also encompass [[Toronto]] and [[Montreal]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-blueprint-2046-1.5019145|title=Ottawa 2046: City thinking ahead with new plan for growth|publisher=CBC News|author=Kate Porter|date=14 February 2019|accessdate=15 February 2019}}</ref>
Ottawa was chosen as the national capital of Canada by [[Queen Victoria]] in 1857. At that time, the town was a small lumber and military centre with a population of over 10,000 people. While a site for the new Parliament Buildings was selected on what was then Barracks Hill (later [[Parliament Hill]]), little formal planning was undertaken for the rest of the city. The city was lacking in utilities common to other cities in the era. There were no paved streets, sewers, gaslights or piped water supply.
In 1893, [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] Sir [[Wilfrid Laurier]] promised ''"to make the city of Ottawa as attractive as possibly could be; to make it the centre of the intellectual development of this country and above all the Washington of the north."'' <ref>{{Cite journal|title=Ottawa-Hull and Canberra: Implementation of Capital City Plans|journal=Canadian Journal of Urban Research|last=Gordon|first=David L. A.|volume=11|pages=180, 183|issue=2|year=2002|jstor=44320717}}</ref> Following Laurier's initiative four successive city plans were proposed, although for various reasons none were successfully implemented.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=A History of Commissions: Threads of An Ottawa Planning History|journal=Urban History Review|last=Hillis|first=Ken|volume=21|issue=1|year=1992|pages=46–60|doi=10.7202/1019246ar|jstor=44135596|doi-access=free}}</ref>
During [[Canada in World War II|World War II]], most of the [[downtown Ottawa]]'s green spaces was filled with "temporary" wooden office buildings hastily constructed to house the Capital’s burgeoning civil service. The city’s natural beauty was also threatened with unplanned [[urban sprawl]], while its waterways were fouled by the [[detritus]] of the area’s extensive [[Wood products industry|wood-products industry]] and the [[Treated wastewater|untreated sewage]] of its growing population.<ref name=":3" /> At the time, the [[Government of Canada]] was entertaining the idea of creating a [[federal district]] like [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name=":0" />
In 1936, Prime Minister [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]] invited [[Jacques Gréber]], a French town planner, to act as an advisor for planning in [[Ottawa, Ontario|Ottawa]]. A couple of years later, in 1938, Gréber was commissioned by Mackenzie King and the [[Federal District Commission]] to develop a vision and urban plan for the [[National Capital Region (Canada)|National Capital Region]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> However, war broke out before much could be achieved beyond the construction of the [[National War Memorial (Canada)|National War Memorial]].<ref name=":3" />
Following the War, the report was again ordered by Mackenzie King in 1946. As Gréber never actually came to Ottawa at the time, [[Public Works Canada]] was tasked with photographing almost all of the intersections in [[downtown Ottawa]] in order to provide Gréber with a sense of the atmosphere and feel of Ottawa.<ref name=":0" />
Gréber published his 300-page "General Report on the Plan for the National Capital" on 18 November 1949, recommending large-scale networks that would alter the face of the national capital.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> Mackenzie King, who had retired as prime minister the previous year, wrote the foreword to the report.<ref name=":3" /> (MacKenzie King passed away two years before the final report was submitted, however.) In 1958, [[Canadian Parliament|Parliament]] passed the ''National Capital Act'', establishing the National Capital Region and a new [[National Capital Commission]] (NCC) to bring Gréber's plan into reality. The Gréber Report would serve as the NCC's planning guide into the 1970s.<ref name=":2" /> Gréber writes, "the restoration of the Chaudiere Islands to their primitive beauty and wildness, is perhaps the theme of greatest importance, from the aesthetic point of view-the theme that will appeal, not only to local citizens, but to all Canadians who take pride in their country and its institutions."
In February 2019, Ottawa mayor [[Jim Watson (Canadian politician)|Jim Watson]] began the process to develop a modern version of the Gréber Plan, a 25-year plan for the city, anticipating breaching a population of 1 million residents, and foreseeing a part of a [[Megalopolis|megaregion]] to also encompass [[Toronto]] and [[Montreal]].<ref name=":1" />
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
* {{cite news|url=http://spacing.ca/ottawa/2009/12/22/the-greber-plan-a-ghost-of-ottawa-past/ |last=McClelland |first=David |date=22 December 2009 |title=The Gréber plan: A ghost of Ottawa past |publisher=Spacing Ottawa |website=spacing.ca/ottawa |accessdate=6 May 2020}}
* Miguelez, Alain. 2015. ''Transforming Ottawa: Canada’s Capital in the Eyes of Jacques Gréber''.
* {{cite news|url=https://heritageottawa.org/news/capital-builders-how-mackenzie-king-and-greber-made-modern-city |title=The Capital Builders: How Mackenzie King and Gréber made the Modern City |last=Reevely |first=David |date=13 June 2017 |publisher=Ottawa Citizen |website=heritageottawa.org |accessdate=6 May 2020}}
==External links==
*[http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/bins/index.asp National Capital Commission] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703000221/http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/bins/index.asp |date=2007-07-03 }}
*[https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/public-engagement/projects/new-official-plan City of Ottawa New Official Plan]
*[https://www.nfb.ca/film/capital_plan/ ''A Capital Plan''] (1949) — [[National Film Board of Canada]] documentary film on Ottawa that discusses Gréber's [[Garden city movement|garden city]] plan for Ottawa and offers a brief glimpse of Gréber at work. Narrated by [[Lorne Greene]].
*{{cite news|url=http://www.pastottawa.com/?menu=greber |title=Ottawa Past & Present: Gréber Plan |publisher=Ottawa Past & Present |website=pastottawa.com |accessdate=6 May 2020}}
{{Ottawa}}
[[Category:Canadian commissions and inquiries]]▼
[[Category:1950 documents]]
[[Category:History of Ottawa]]
[[Category:City plans]]
▲[[Category:Canadian commissions and inquiries]]
[[Category:National Capital Region (Canada)]]
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