Quote:
Originally Posted by lrt's friend
What is wrong with Ottawans?
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OK, as a resident of Ottawa for 44 of my 47 years, I'll bite.
I would say 3 main factors are at play:
1. Ottawa is a relatively young city (in global terms). Only about 150 years ago (that's like yesterday in the "old world") Ottawa was a small, isolated lumber town. We can still see remnants of these early years even today. Other than the Greber plan of the 1950s, Ottawa's development has been evolutionary, not revolutionary. So when someone has a big plan today, residents are suspicious and usually opposed.
2. Ottawa's modern-day raison d'etre is as the seat of the federal government. Much of the rest of Canada dislikes Ottawa for that very reason, and Ottawans know it. This inferiority complex manifests itself in many ways, such as through a low-key approach to city building. If we don't make too many waves, maybe they'll start to like us a bit more.
3. Ottawans themselves like the status quo. Ottawa's natural surroundings are still pretty wild (especially west and north of the city), and there's a certain pride in being a "quiet, backwoods capital" as Dan Rather once described our town. Tall towers, innovative architecture, electronic billboards, and subways may be great for really big cities like New York or even Toronto, but we're Ottawans and we prefer to keep our waterfronts undeveloped and our buildings functional rather than fancy.
Of course, things are changing but it will take many more years to shake off Ottawa's small-town mentality. In the meantime, it's fun to look into the future as many do on this board, all the while trying to reconcile our humble beginnings of only a few generations.