This letter by Nicholas K Blomley shows informed concern that Fama’s development proposal from 1997 would contribute to the gentrification of the neighbourhood, an area of research that he was studying and writing about at the time. Blomley mentions land values, and explains the geographic significance of the Woodward’s site in relation to Gastown, the Downtown Eastside and Strathcona. His letter is cited and reads like an essay, but it is spot-on. Many of Blomley’s speculations about gentrification and increased marginalization came true when the Woodward’s site was finally redeveloped by Westbank Corporation years later.
