There is a significant disconnect between heritage as a discipline and heritage as practiced locally on the ground. As a discipline, heritage has changed considerably in recent decades. It has moved beyond traditional boundaries and intersected with issues such as equity, social values, climate change, housing, and community planning. Provincially, nationally and internationally, experts and experienced professionals consistently identify several core themes and explore their impact on practice:
• There is a growing interest in heritage as a living system of relationships between people and place;
• There is an understood need for greater attention to cultural diversity and how different cultural groups value heritage (e.g. First Nations, women, LGBTQ);
• Classical heritage concepts around building preservation alone do not address contemporary societal needs and issues; resolution of these needs requires broader and more interdisciplinary approaches
Locally, the heritage field in general is just starting to consider these broader ideas.
Competing meanings have been attached to heritage, and there are opposing views on the evolution of the discipline expressed. Some feel heritage has broadened too far while others feel strongly that heritage needs to continually re-examine its concepts in order to respond to current needs. This comes at a time when there is increasing questioning of the usefulness of heritage due to its traditional focus on preservation. In this third installment of Shaping Vancouver, we will examine the disruption taking place in heritage and the challenges it faces in remaining relevant.
