Winter Cities - Theme Cities: Solutions for Urban Problems - page 282

pads. The rapid variability of conditions in winter can also create additional difficul-
ties for humans, especially in places close to mountains where warming winds, such
as the Chinook in Alberta, or the F￶hn in Alpine areas, frequently occur in winter
and often within a few hours. The majority of the population view these warm, dry
winds as a welcome relief from the winter cold, but some people get migraines dur-
ing these events that are characterised by rapid climate changes.
When these area-specific health difficulties are added to the drab, sterile and co-
lourless environment produced by the absence of plant and animal life in winter, it
is not surprising to find that many people who are not native to these climates view
winter with at least trepidation. A more general result is that many people feel less
inclined to go outside the warmth of their own house, leading to lower patterns of
interaction and socialization during the winter. Yet one must note that there can be
compensation in these winter climates, especially at times of anti-cyclonic condi-
tions or in the dry continental interiors where the presence of many days of open,
blue skies, can be psychologically uplifting, so long as the cold is kept at bay. This
means the brisk, clear and bracing air of winter is seen as a bonus by some, so long
as it is not too cold. Hence one objective of the Winter City advocates has been to
reduce the negative psychological effects of this season and to develop ways of
creating more winter activities and better designs to embrace and enhance its posi-
tive elements.

8.3.3 The Economic North

Residents of settlements in high latitudes face increased economic costs. Compared
to areas further south they have much higher heating costs, whether from the need
to buy specialised clothes, or to warm buildings. They also have greater costs of
transportation, since cars need chains or special winter tyres to get grips on roads
covered with snow or ice, while the isolation of many settlements means that many,
especially in the 'hard north', can be reached only by expensive air connections
for much of the year. However the increasing use of snowmobiles—the modern
equivalent of the sleigh—on snow surfaces does improve mobility within cities and
certainly to places outside. In high latitude maritime areas the sea freezes, so ports
have to be closed down in winter, reducing their annual level of economic activity.
In Canada this gives a big advantage to ice-free ports such as Halifax, compared
to Montreal where the port is closed for three months or more in winter, while a
port such as Churchill on Hudson Bay is typically open for only three months of
the year, restricting its ability to act as an entrep￴t to the agricultural Canadian
Prairies to the west. Yet in the Far North of Canada many mining camps are served
more cheaply and efficiently in winter, especially for the transport of heavy equip-
ment, because ice roads have been built over the snow that covers the rocky, undu-
lating terrain and many lakes, an environment that makes it uneconomic to build
permanent roads. Nevertheless, the isolation and distance of the settlements from
agricultural areas in the south results in higher costs of basic foodstuffs , especially
in the areas beyond the zones where agriculture is possible, since far more products