How the Past Matters: North American Cities in the Twentieth Century

ABSTRACT:The past matters because it affects the present, and we can make serious errors of judgment when we ignore this fact. In studying the past, however, we should try to view it in its own terms and not simply in the light of current concerns. This will not only make for better history, but may be useful in broadening the terms of contemporary debates. These themes are illustrated in terms of the twentieth-century North American city. The influence of the past, and the errors of judgment caused by ignoring its effects, can be seen in Toronto. There, in the postwar era, the health of the central city and the viability of public transit have been attributed to good planning and urban governance. In fact, these features are partly the unintended consequences of the way the urban area developed in the first half of this century. The limitations of viewing the past in terms of the present are illustrated by the way that scholars have allowed current concerns to shape our conception of cities in the first half of this century. For example, the sharp distinction of city from suburb and the search for the origins of the modern land development industry have narrowed our vision of urban areas before World War II. The case of housing policy indicates that this narrowing has not only distorted our view of the past, but also has compelled us to reinvent mechanisms of housing provision, such as cooperatives and self-help, that had been attempted decades ago and subsequently forgotten.