| dc.description.abstract | Municipal enterprise was an innovation born of necessity in the
hinterland regions of Europe and North America. In an era of rapid
industrial and population growth, urban governments struggled during the
late Victorian period to respond to enormous pressure to establish and
expand urban services. The nature of this reponse was determined
primarily by the ability of private enterprise to satisfy public demand for
running water, natural gas, electric generation, electric lights, a street
railway and telephone service. Consequently, the greatest manifestation
of municipal enterprise was in aspiring hinterland towns and cities where
private enterprise had failed to provide these urban services.
Port Arthur (a small frontier town at the ‘head’ of Lake Superior) was
a pioneer of municipal ownership in North America. While the scarcity of
finance capital in the region prevented utility entrepreneurs from
providing urban services, the sense of urgency generated by inter-urban
rivalry led to indirect municipal intervention (bonuses), and eventually to
municipal enterprise. This process was greatly facilitated by an
atmosphere of inter-class cooperation conducive to collective action, and
to public confidence in the municipal administration. A false dichotomy
has been created between the municipal ownership of urban services and private enterprise because historical interpretation respecting utility
organization and regulation In large metropolitan cities have been applied
to all urban centres. This thesis reconsiders this assumption and
responds to several fundamental questions which have yet to be explored.
Why did Port Arthur pioneer municipal enterprise in North America? How
did the legal environment Influence the scope of municipal activity? Was
the municipal administration controlled by a booster-orientated economic
elite? How did the municipal ownership of urban services differ from
private ownership? | |
