Raise the Hammer

I recently returned from Vancouver (first time there) and I walked about the city, travelled the transit system, and made many of the same oberservations that you have listed here. I had no idea that 40 years ago Hamilton had so many similarities. The thing that really resonated with me was how open the city felt.

I love way the cobbled only the pedestrian side of that mixed/use path. Brlliant way to dissuade cyclists by design.

Great photos, Nicholas, and I love to hear your thoughts, as always. But why is Vancouver considered a role model to Hamilton because there "far fewer obviously overweight and obese people"? If your point is that Vancouverites enjoy longer, healthier lives, with lower rates of cancer, heart disease, and strokes, and if you could back that up with some solid evidence, then that would be a great selling point. But just a casual observation that you didn't see many fat people (and treating that as an example of Vancouver's obvious superiority) is rather off-putting to me. I'm all for comparing the beauty of the natural environments and the architecture and infrastructure of the two cities, but when we start to assume that Vancouver is better because there are no fatties around, that's where you lose me.

Comment edited by administrator Ryan on 2011-08-08 19:49:50

Who the f..k are you supposed to be again? Go back to Vanshitver and leave Hamilton alone.

Hmm... You know, if you think about this proposal...given that the proposer wouldn't be an issue anymore...it's actually quite compelling.

Indeed

still boggles my mind that our 'chamber of commerce' fights tooth and nail against bringing that kind of business investment, vibrancy and quality of life to our city. Are they run by a competing city's Chamber that I'm unaware of?? Only enemies would try to hold us back so fiercely.

Christi,

I certainly didn't intend to offend with my comments about the much lower rates of obesity in Vancouver, which is why I hesitated in mentioning it. I apologize if you were offended.

This is certainly not an esthetic issue, but a health issue and I believe it is related to the pedestrian-friendly active lifestyle encouraged by the urban design of the city. I should have been clearer that lower obesity rates mean a healthier population. Vancouver's obesity rate of 11.7% is almost three times lower than Hamilton's rate of 34.6% (http://www.canadafacts.org/the-slimmest-and-fattest-in-canada/), and this is associated with a significantly healthier population. Table 1 of

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/health...

shows that the average life expectancy in Vancouver is 81.1 years (the highest in Canada), while the average life expectancy in Hamilton is 79.4 years.

Vancouver has been rated the "healthiest city in Canada" according to several measures:

http://www.besthealthmag.ca/get-healthy/health/canadas-healthiest-cities http://www.besthealthmag.ca/get-healthy/...

Hamilton didn't make the top 20 in 2009.

According to most epidemiologists and public health organizations North America and Europe are facing a so-called obesity epidemic which has serious health implications. For example, see the following parliamentary report:

http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/resear...

Figure 1B of this report shows that the prevalence of obesity in Canada has increased from less than 8% in 1970 to about 15% in 1998. The rate in 2010 was 25%, more than three times the rate in 1970 (http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2010/09/23/obesity-canada-adults-oecd.html). Lack of exercise is cited as a significant risk factor epidemiologically (i.e. on a statistical basis), and a pedestrian-oriented city has a more active population. The parliamentary report points out numerous health dangers with obesity,

"Numerous scientific studies have linked overweight and obesity with increased risk for a broad range of illnesses, including: Type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, gallbladder disease, obstructive sleep apnea and respiratory problems, cardiovascular disease (e.g., coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke), hypertension, osteoarthritis, some types of cancer (e.g., breast, endometrial, colon, prostate and kidney), psychosocial problems, functional limitations and impaired fertility.(11)"

See also the World Health Organization:

http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/obes...

Comment edited by kevlahan on 2011-08-05 22:13:35

I'm finding myself shaking my head at this exchange. The notion that Nicholas should have to essentially apologize for a comment that should not have been taken as some kind of slight is absurd. But this is where we are right now, with a faction of people girding themselves with umbrage at the slimmest (!) connotation or suggestion of 'fatness' or being 'overweight' or 'obesity' being injected into a conversation.

As this whole issue is one of my prime passions in Life, and as I have struggled with my own eating disorder while maintaining a broad fitness regimen almost all my life, I find I don't have any desire to 'play nice' when the subject comes up.

We've created a society that has –for the most part– detached itself from itself physically. As members of the animal kingdom, we've entirely abrogated our natural inclinations and said an emphatic 'Fuck you!' to our physical selves. And I'll tell ya, besides being saddening, maddening and frustrating...it's utterly disgusting.

And to think that this has happened over the relatively short time-span of fifty years. (Yes, I've lived it all, and can tell you first-hand what happened, but I won't take up space here.)

The 'excuses' I hear from 'the other side' are enough to make me barf...even when taking in all the contributing factors, all the extenuating circumstances. Here it is in a nutshell: when I was in public school in the mid-60s, we had maybe ONE 'overweight' kid in each class. I remember one school I went to, in the entire six grades there was ONE notable 'overweight' child, 'Fat Freddy'.

Go into any elementary school classroom now. Do a count. The percentage of 'overweight' kids is beyond alarming.

All the reasons, all the rationalizations in the world are fine and dandy, but the bottom line is that our obesity pandemic is the greatest risk to not only ourselves via the concomitant afflictions (heart disease, arthritis, Type 2 Diabetes, etc), but our health care system; the NHS in the UK predicted more than six years ago that its projections showed that it could very well be bankrupted because of obesity in less than two decades. This applies to Canada's system as well.

Enough with the 'acceptance'. We need to return to our physical selves. What we've allowed ourselves to become is a real betrayal.

'Cook fresh food. Be active. Have fun.'

Comment edited by mystoneycreek on 2011-08-06 08:32:11

Thanks for the additional info, Nicholas. I totally agree that making Hamilton a more pedestrian-friendly, walkable place would benefit all of our citizens. The benefits of regular exercise and an active lifestyle are apparent. But the goal (and I'm sure you will agree) should be healthy citizens, not just people who "look" healthy. (i.e. thin) Many of those slim Vancouverites you observed may have been addicted to drugs or alcohol, or smokers, or working in high-stress jobs, or experiencing other risk factors for ill health. But you would never know it by looking at them. If we improve Hamilton's public transit and provide more opportunities for healthy lifestyles that include a lot of exercise, ALL Hamiltonians will benefit. Not just the fat ones.

As much as this is, without a doubt, an issue where 'individual effort' really does matter, there's a lot of larger factors at work.

Food, in general, tends to have much more calories and less nutrition than fifty or a hundred years ago. This means we can easily exceed our day's calorie needs without getting anywhere enough nutrients. As a result we still feel "hungry", or weak, tired and depessed (all clinical side effects of under-nutrition). Combine this with a century of motorizing every task we can imagine, and this is going to have very predictable effects on people. Some will get fat, some will be undernourished, some will be both and a lucky/privileged few will be neither. Overall, though, we'll be much less healthy.

As much as this is, without a doubt, an issue where 'individual effort' really does matter, there's a lot of larger factors at work.

Sorry, I disagree with the tack of 'rationalizations'.

If people took responsibility for their bodies and what went in them, even to the extents that are available re: available food, most of the problems would be solved.

The human body is an amazing machine. But it has to be used. It's no different than other animals' bodies: it can handle a lot, as long as it's used.

For example, nutrients are best utilized when they're eaten, not ingested as supplements. The body's systems are in place for good reasons and when we circumvent them...for convenience, for example...then we're essentially doing an injustice to the whole notion of physical forms. And yet people believe they can do an 'end-run' on proper eating...and I'm differentiating between 'feeding' and eating' here...by 'supplementing'. Wrongo.

So much can be attained even within our poisonous culture by returning our bodies to an active, mobile state. Not 100% of their potential, but I'll tell ya; give me the average sedentary, over-eating, disaffected person...and I'll give them great health in six months...and it won't 'cost' them anything.

I'm certainly not saying it can't be done. I've done it, as have many of my friends.

Cultural factors, however, are not entirely under the control of an individual. There's food availability and cost. There's the amount of time people have available to go hunting for better/cheaper food (or grow it themselves). There's the education in food they've received. There's what others around eat...

Social factors never affect everyone equally, or in the same way. Apply these factors to a few million people, and some will be far more hard-hit than others. Looking at what the introduction of western food culture has done to countries like Japan (as the number of fast food restaurants doubled, so did the obesity rate...), it's pretty clear that there's something rotten. Or did the entire nation suddenly become more lazy, ignorant and mutate their DNA?

Individual actions can only go so far...alone. Individuals acting together can change everything - it's the very definition of cultural change. Eating healthy and exercise aren't the most rewarding activities if they isolate you from peers. Far too many, these days, view it like a kind of religious penance. If, on the other hand, they bring us together (ie: shared meals and sports), it's a whole different story. While I totally agree we need to shatter the myths about health and nutrition, we also need to embrace healthier alternatives in ways that go beyond our own personal sphere.

excellent stuff Nicholas. The correlation is clear and has been well-documented all over the world: people in vibrant, walkable cities are generally in better shape than those in highway towns like ours.

Nice photos. You're right. Vancouver is the best. I moved here from Toronto and I will never go back. Hamilton is even worse than Toronto. Terrible air pollution, and not much going on as a city. Just move back to Vancouver man.

Actually the pollution on most days is worse in Toronto than it is in Hamilton. Unfortunately your another Torontonian who has bought into the old stereotypical view of Hamilton.

I am sure if you check you will see that the air quality stats will show Hamilton is on a par with Vancouver and many other Canadian cities when it comes to air quality levels.

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Comment edited by administrator Ryan on 2011-08-06 13:43:05

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On this site they never tell you the whole story. It's all about selling their point of view.

Vancouver is a beautiful city and a place I could live, but the underbelly of the city makes Hamilton's seedier side look like Disneyland.

Then again they all fawn over Portland which has one of the highest percentages of heroin addicts and homeless people per capita in the US. But thats okay because they have LRT and that makes it the most wonderful place on the planet.

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another one of the old, tired attempts to discredit valuable lessons we can learn from other cities - because they aren't perfect and have their own problems, that means we toss out EVERYTHING they've done properly?? Come on, you can do better than that.

On this site they never tell you the whole story. It's all about selling their point of view.

Um... Look at the title of the site. And its mandate.

However, I do agree that there is a tendency on the parts of ardent RTHers to get all pissy when you point out harsh realities and the 'less-savoury' side of the city.

As you'll see in how this comment is downvoted. LOL

I saw a great article on this site about food creation in micro gardens. More farmers markets and urban food resources bringing healthier food to cities would go along way in creating healthy, happy populations. I wish I had more time to work on my own garden.