I've posted these articles in another thread but I want to link them from here as well. I want lurkers to read these. Seriously, this 1974 spread should be required reading for all Victorians, especially new arrivals.
Partly because of the historical grounding it would provide (where we are now is where we've been before, many times over),
partly because of the facts contained therein,
partly because of the nonsense and fear-mongering contained therein,
partly because the articles demonstrate that noxious "everything is bad/the city is being ruined" pessimism that characterized post-1945 Victoria well into the 2000s,
and partly because the articles show how modern Victorians sustain the same fundamental grievances decade after decade, merely re-shaping them to fit the current context.
Maybe the city's name should be changed to "Phoenix"? Every day it gets utterly ruined, but every following day it gets threatened with ruination all over again.
Daily Colonist
May 18, 1974
Article 1: The rise, decline and fall of apartment development boom
Article 2: Neighbors battle "the sell-out"
Article 3: Psychiatric care just child's play (file this one in the same category as the current concern re: highrise heart attacks)
Article 4: Developers have problems too
Article 5: It's now big boxes, all in a row