Edmonton's Urban Villages: The Community League Movement

Bonnie Wagner is a historian at Parks Canada in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Edmonton’s Urban Villages details the history and development of the
Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues (EFCL). The first community
league in Edmonton was created in 1917 in order to give residents a
voice about local development and issues. During its close to 90-year
existence, the EFCL has allowed the citizens of Edmonton to have a say
on many civic issues, particularly those relating to neighbourhood
infrastructure. It has also provided recreation and sport programs as
well as local facilities such as ice rinks, community halls, and
neighbourhood parks.

The overall structure of the book is problematic. Each chapter is
divided into two sections: the first section provides a broad history of
the city of Edmonton during a particular era, while the second section
provides a detailed account of the EFCL during the same era. The effect
of dividing the contextual history of Edmonton and the history of the
EFCL into separate sections is to leave unclear the links between
broader historical events and the development of the EFCL. In addition,
the sections relating specifically to the EFCL read more like a timeline
than a narrative. Events are noted one after the other with few
connections between them and no explanation of how they may relate to
other issues affecting Edmonton at the time. Kuban also neglects to
compare the EFCL movement to developments in other cities—a comparison
that would have given the reader a better understanding of how the EFCL
is different and why it is important.

When discussing the internal and external conflicts afflicting the EFCL
at various times in its history, Kuban focuses solely on the objectives
and rationale of the EFCL board members and does not explain the
motivations of other groups involved in these conflicts, including the
Edmonton City Council, local art/ethno-cultural groups, and the Boysdale
Camp Foundation, to name a few.

Nevertheless, Kuban provides a very detailed account of the history of
the EFCL and certainly shows how it was instrumental in the growth and
development of leisure activities in Edmonton.