Perth, a Town of 5930 people, sits approximately 85 kilometres from Ottawa’s downtown, and about 60 kilometres from the city’s western edge (Statistics Canada 2016). The town was founded in 1816 as a military settlement. Following the War of 1812, it had become apparent to the British that the thin line of settlements along the St. Lawrence River between Montreal and Kingston was vulnerable to attack from Americans to the south. To bolster its defense, Britain established a series of inland settlements with connections to the Rideau and St. Lawrence waterways (Turner 1992). In an effort to stymie American expansion, Great Britain populated Perth and the then-unsettled interior of what is now Eastern Ontario with British loyals. Assisted immigration brought settlers from Ireland and Scotland, with each family receiving 100 acres of land and six months of rations, while British soldiers were offered 100 acres and a year of rations if they chose to settle rather than returning home. Within the settlement area of Perth itself, newcomers were each deeded a one acre lot (Turner 1992).
Unlike most other settlements, the location chosen for Perth was not on a major waterway or existing thoroughfare; it was built on the Tay River, “the largest of the Rideau’s small, regional arteries” (Turner 1992, p. 13). Despite its location on a watershed that could not sustain widespread development, in 1823, Perth was made the centre of administration for the Bathurst District, at the time “a wilderness of struggling pioneers”, which in modern day is comprised of Lanark and Renfrew Counties and, perhaps most significantly, much of the western portion of the city of Ottawa (Turner 1992, p. 9). This designation as the district capital brought a courthouse, a jail, and various other administrative functions to the settlement, immediately improving its status, and the town became a gateway to the even more remote northern settlements (Turner 1992). Its growth was accelerated by the construction of the Rideau Canal from 1826 to 1832, which increased the connection between towns in the region, but it lost much of its regional status with the separation of Carleton County (now part of Ottawa) in 1850, and of Renfrew County in 1861, leaving its jurisdictional area as solely Lanark County (Turner 1992).
The context of Perth – the era in and place in which it was settled, as well as the people who settled there – influenced the architecture style that remains to this day. Perth is situated on a sandstone deposit, and many of its early settlers were Scottish stonemasons (Turner 1992, Brown
2003). Over the course of the 1800s (particularly the 1850s and 1860s), the stonemasons constructed what has been called “Ontario’s finest stone main street” along the central section of Gore Street and, in particular, the intersection of Gore and Foster Streets (Brown 2003, p. 125). The Town’s main commercial intersection at Gore and Foster is dominated by the Matheson complex, a set of buildings that were constructed in the 1840s (Turner 1992). The locally iconic Town Hall was built in 1863, but its cupola, which is displayed on Perth’s emblem, was added in 1874 (Turner 1992, Brown 2003). The stretch of Herriott Street between Gore and Wilson was built up largely by Thomas Alfred Code during an economic boom from the 1880s to the turn of the century: “Unlike Matheson’s tight, fortress-like development at Gore and Foster, built adjacent to the street with walled internal courtyards, the Code complex dramatically reflects the “City Beautiful” movement, with buildings set out almost as if on public display” (Turner 1992, p. 78). The Scottish masonry is punctured by a handful of other styles around the downtown core, including the American “federalist” McMartin House, the Beaux-Arts style McMillan building, and the comparatively modern, Art Moderne Perkins building (Turner 1992). Despite the amalgam of architectural styles, the use of local materials and consistent building heights of two to three storeys help give Perth’s streets a coherent feel (Town of Perth 2016e).
Figure 13: The Code’s Mill Building. Photo taken by author.
Figure 15: The McMillan Building. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons 2009.
As important as the architecture to the character of Perth is its urban design. The streets of Perth are laid out as a strict military grid, with all but a handful of streets running roughly north- south or east-west (Brown 2003, Town of Perth 2016e). This pattern was imposed on a less symmetrical natural landscape, giving Perth its particular form:
The town straddled the Tay River, which imposed its own geometry on the rigid grid, introducing a ‘romantic’ or ‘picturesque’ flavour to the engineered system of four-acre blocks and streets. Perth was laid out at odd angles of the compass. The river meandering through the centre of town contributes to one’s perception of Perth and sense of place. A series of stone arched bridges connected parts of the town. (Turner 1992, p. 27).
The grid pattern cut the town into roughly symmetrical, approximately four acre blocks, interrupted at certain points by the Tay River and Stewart Park. Commercial and residential buildings were placed close to the street, creating axial vistas (Turner 1992, Town of Perth 2016e). This human-scale layout is a result of the urban design practices of the era, which were informed by the lack of automobiles. Perth’s architectural beauty, combined with its gridiron layout and street-fronting buildings, gives it a “character of place” (Turner 1992, p. 122). Though over a century has passed since most of the town was designed and constructed, the historic core of the town has been preserved, and it retains the ambiance of a 19th century town.
Transportation in Perth – From Early to Modern Times
Over its history, a number of projects have taken place to better connect Perth to the outside world by water, rail, or road. Arguably, few have been successful. Its relative seclusion stems from the initial choice of its location on a minor river, rather than a major waterway. Bordered to both the north and south by bog swamps, access by road was as treacherous by land as by water (Turner 1992). Its fortunes changed with the construction of the Rideau Canal between 1826 to 1832, and with the completion of the first Tay Canal in 1834, which ran through the town itself and connected it to the regional system (Turner 1992). However, the first Tay Canal had less impact than expected – the river proved too small to power real industry, and the completion of the St. Lawrence Canals in 1847 decreased the importance of the Rideau system (Turner 1992). By the time the railway reached Perth, in 1859, the first Tay Canal had ceased operations – in part because the builders had failed to anticipate how it would be impacted by the harsh Canadian winters (Turner 1992, Newton and Newton 2015). The railway itself had little impact either – it was a cul-de-sac line that
transported passengers only to Smiths Falls, from where they could go to farther destinations such as Brockville, Ottawa and Montreal. Due to its lack of convenience and long travel times to destinations, the railway did little to stimulate growth (Turner 1992).
In the 1880s, Perth’s transportation fortunes changed for the better, both by water and rail. In 1884, Canadian Pacific Railway completed the Ontario and Quebec Railway, which was the major trunk line between Toronto and Montreal and included a stop in Perth:
The town granted a bonus and 25 acres of land to the CPR for erection of factory buildings, where passenger, freight, dining, kitchen, and sleeping cars, as well as flat and box cars, could be assembled. Until 1904, CPR was Perth’s major employer. Although the Ontario line of the CPR was designed to link the major metropolitan centres, the railway created opportunities for local producers (Turner 1992, p. 64).
The economic boom inspired Perth’s leaders to seek public funding for a new Tay Canal, and a second expensive canal project was completed in 1891 (Turner 1992). Though it did not have the desired industrial impact, it became one of the defining physical features of the town, attracting tourists and remaining a hallmark of the town to this day (Turner 1992).
The 1900s saw Perth’s main mode of transportation transition quickly to the automobile, as was occurring in the rest of North America. Highway 7, which runs from Toronto to Ottawa and is part of the Trans-Canada Highway, was built between 1931 and 1932. It spurred commercial development at the north end of the town, and became home to Perth’s largest shopping plaza, the Perth Mews Mall, in 1990 (Turner 1992). But, as will be discussed below, Perth has managed to retain the commercial viability and heritage character of its historic downtown, despite the shift in commercial focus to Highway 7.
Today, rail and water are non-factors in Perth’s transportation network. The last passenger train stopped Perth in 1966, and the rail station was demolished in 1979 (E. Kirkham 2018). Though the tracks are still in place, they carry freight only, and pass through the town without stopping. Other than the provision of more active transportation options, including walking and cycling trails, the only major transportation project anticipated in Perth’s Official Plan is a bypass road connecting Highway 7 to County Road 43, allowing traffic to reach Smiths Falls from various destinations on Highway 7 without having to pass through Perth’s downtown (Town of Perth 2016b).
Figure 18: Former Perth Station (date unknown).
Courtesy of E. Kirkham 2018.
Figure 19: Former Perth engine house (date unknown). Courtesy of E. Kirkham 2018.
Figure 20: Perth Station, active in 1955.
Planning Priorities
Perth’s Official Plan summarizes the priorities and challenges for planning in the town in its first chapter:
Its heritage, its services and facilities, its small town atmosphere, its national image, its proximity to major centres and conversely to cottage country are opportunities to attract development and sustain a healthy economic base. Servicing constraints, transportation conflicts, polarization of commercial development interests and reconciling its heritage image with its future are challenges Perth faces as it enters the new millennium (Town of Perth 2016a, p. 2).
Besides the Official Plan, the majority of information about planning in Perth was obtained via personal interviews with experienced professionals, conducted between March and July of 2018. On March 17th, I met with Mary Kirkham at her home in Elfin, Ontario. Kirkham was the Planning
Administrator of Lanark County from 2008 until her retirement in 2017. On June 25th, I sat down
with Forbes Symon at a Starbucks in Carleton Place. Symon is a planner who has been the Director of Development Services for Perth since 2017. On June 28th, I interviewed Kurt Greaves at Lanark
County’s administrative office. Greaves has been the Chief Administrative Officer for Lanark County for six years. Finally, on July 25th, I met with John Fenik at Perth’s town hall. Fenik was
recently elected to his fourth term as Perth’s mayor.
Perth’s Official Plan – though it does not actually contain the term “New Urbanism” anywhere in the document – contains a plethora of policies that encourage the town’s development both to retain the existing character (which I argue has many of the characters of New Urbanism, though the town predates the definition) and to expand upon these qualities. This may be a combination of the Council and municipal staff of Perth being forward thinking, and simply a reflection of the common planning priorities of the era; Kirkham (2018) points out that the previous Official Plan did not contain such provisions.
• It promotes the compact and efficient use of land in a way that conserves energy and allows existing and future infrastructure to be used efficiently (Town of Perth 2016a).
• It provides for the development and conservation of residential neighbourhoods that maintain the human scale and contain amenities and public spaces (Town of Perth 2016a).
• It highlights the need to provide places for people, where pedestrian travel is facilitated and the impact of the automobile is reduced (Town of Perth 2016a).
• It encourages the development of a transportation system that combines driving with cycling and walking to increase active transportation. This includes the provision of more
cycling and walking paths connected to public areas, public seating, street level lighting, traffic calming features, and signalled crosswalks (Town of Perth 2016a, 2016d). These goals are complemented by Lanark County’s efforts to provide cycling infrastructure along the County road network (Greaves 2018).
• It aims to increase Perth’s status as a complete community by building on the existing mix of uses, which include “shopping, employment, educational, social and recreational facilities and activities” (Town of Perth 2016b, p. 7).
• It encourages developers to design new buildings and infrastructure with an emphasis on longevity and quality (contrary to how many residential subdivisions are built), and encourages the adaptive reuse of existing buildings. In particular, the Town hopes to repurpose vacant commercial and industrial buildings into residences, and to provide more apartment-style housing on the second and third storeys of buildings in the downtown core, where the ground level use is primarily commercial (Town of Perth 2016d).
• It promotes the addition of more mixed-use development in the downtown core, and the construction of residences and places of business in proximity to each other, to increase levels of activity outside of traditional business hours (Town of Perth 2016d).
• It calls for increased density of housing via the use of infill, zero lot lines (where buildings are built right up to the lot line), and increased heights in areas where it can be transitioned to the existing heights and densities (Town of Perth 2016f).
• It encourages sustainable development, by way of building energy efficient structures, conserving energy via compact development, orienting new buildings to take advantage of solar gain, using vegetation to shield buildings from wind, generating less waste, and recycling building materials (Town of Perth 2016d; 2016f).
• It promotes the conservation of natural features and ecologically sensitive areas within and surrounding the town (Town of Perth 2016a; 2016f).
Kirkham (2018) contrasts Perth with the town of Carleton Place, a town that is 32 kilometres east on Highway 7 and is closer to Ottawa: “They [Perth] want development but they want a certain type of development. So they would never consider the way Carleton Place is developing.” What she is referring to is residential sprawl, with single-detached homes accessed conveniently only by car. While Carleton Place has welcomed this type of development for the sake of growth, Perth has policies in place to protect its character.
Figure 21: The intersection of Gore Street and Herriott Street. Photo taken by author.
Symon (2018) points out that the Town is effectively fostering New Urbanism via policies that encourage modern development to give to the community the same thing historic development did – buildings within a metre of front lot lines, parking at the back, and relatively narrow streets with sidewalks on both sides: “We want the new to give us a continuation of the old” (Symon 2018). This method of town-building provides for active transportation and helps to maintain a sense of community. In retaining its architecture and character from the 1800s, Perth already has the framework in place to facilitate the sort of built environment Kelbaugh and Calthorpe (among others) have described.
Fenik (2018) provides an example of policy in action. Several years ago, the Town was approached by Walmart, which was considering opening a store on Highway 7. Fenik is critical of the type of “cookie cutter approach to urbanization” that Walmart represents. He says that the Town strives to ensure a “synergy” between new development and existing small businesses, so that the latter can continue to thrive. One such method is by enforcing the use of limestone for commercial buildings – the Perth Mews Mall, for example, has a limestone facade, which is unusual for a strip mall hosting such chain businesses as Loblaws, Subway, and LCBO. In the end, Walmart and the Town of Perth both appear to have decided they were incompatible.
These policies extend to housing as well. The Official Plan calls for the provision of a range of types of housing, to be created by a mix of intensification, redevelopment (including adaptive re-use of old buildings) and green-field development (Town of Perth 2016b). Housing is to be provided in a variety of densities, including single-detached homes, semi-detached homes, townhouses, and apartments. 60 to 65 percent is to be low density, 15 to 25 percent medium density, and 10 to 20 percent high density, with an increase in supply of affordable housing (Town of Perth 2016b). In recent years, the Town has seen some success in achieving these housing goals, particularly in the form of a new single-detached housing subdivision north of Highway 7, and a few rental apartment buildings constructed throughout the town (Kirkham 2018; Symon 2018). Symon points out, though, that the demand will always be higher for single-detached homes, since space is one of the motivators for people to relocate to small towns. There is question, then, as to whether or not TOD is an appropriate model for a small town.
As alluded to above, Perth’s number one priority is almost certainly heritage – the maintenance and expansion of heritage architecture, as well as the celebration of its history in the form of events and marketing. Perth’s ability to retain so much heritage architecture is a result, in part, of its slow growth over the past 200 years. While sustained levels of growth often leads older buildings two be demolished and replaced with new ones, Perth has benefited, in a sense, from relative stagnation (Turner 1992). Symon (2018) explains that “it has this amazing heritage vibe to it, but it also has a completely intact downtown core that’s very vibrant. It’s never been gutted like some of the other communities.” Though some of the heritage buildings had become derelict by the late 20th Century, the town benefited from a federal Main Street revitalization program in the 1980s, which saw many of the buildings restored to their former glory (Turner 1992). These efforts have turned into policy, as the preservation of heritage, and the extension of Perth’s heritage character, is discussed numerous times in the town’s Official Plan (Town of Perth 2016a; 2016b; 2016e; Symon 2018).
Perth’s distinct heritage architecture has not gone unnoticed. As far back as the 1930s, a professor from the University of Toronto’s School of Architecture would bring students to Perth to examine and draw its historic structures (Turner 1992). In the 1960s, a professor from McGill University’s School of Architecture drew sketches of what buildings on Gore and Foster Streets would look like if restored – these drawing inspired an actual project to revitalize the buildings (Turner 1992). In 2000, the TVO show Studio 2 declared Perth to be Ontario’s “prettiest town”
(Brown 2003, p. 125). Algonquin College capitalized on Perth’s heritage by running a Heritage Masonry program out of its satellite campus in Perth, though regrettably this was cancelled in 2018 (Laucius 2018).
Figure 22: Stewart Park. Photo taken by author.
Demographics and Factors Influencing Growth
Perth is known for being a retirement community – its compactness and attractive built and natural features have made it a popular choice for retirees looking for a slower pace of life since at least the 1980s (Town of Perth 2016a, Kirkham 2018, Symon 2018, Greaves 2018). In 2016, slightly more than a third of the town’s population was over 65 years old (Statistics Canada 2016). Greaves (2018) has observed an interesting pattern resulting from this demographic: a high rate of turnover in the housing market. People move to Perth when they retire, but many only stay for a short period of time, due to the death of one spouse, a move to a retirement home, or a move back to the city to be closer to healthcare. This has created a highly active real estate market, despite the