Date of Award

4-2-2018

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

First Advisor

Susan Drummond

Abstract

The deep process of revision needed in managing Toronto and Canadas urban intangible cultural heritage not only affects redevelopment decisions and cultural policies at the municipal level, and cultural heritage legislation and regulations at the provincial level, but it also calls for the need to address issues at the federal level, such as correctly acknowledging what terms like heritage value mean when drawn from international cultural heritage legislation and the currently unratified status of the UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage within Canada. Through the application of urban legal anthropology, as well as through a lens drawing on urban legal geography, this dissertation canvases cases of unequal valuation of cultural spaces linked to musical subcultures and Torontos redevelopment strategies and Music City initiatives. It then turns to what has led to this unequal valuation and examines various existing legal tools in Ontario that lend themselves to counterhegemonic application allowing for better and more equitable intangible cultural heritage protection in the city. These tools will include, for example, the Ontario Heritage Act and Regulations and Heritage Conservation Districts among others. This dissertation also turns to international legal tools, and legal tools used in other jurisdictions, for the protection of intangible cultural heritage spaces, and which could realistically be implemented within existing Canadian and Ontarian heritage legislation. Finally, the importance of community consultation practices and paths towards more equitable and engaged community consultation will be explored. These are important considerations where encouraging and engaging the cultural and artistic expression of urban citizens is essential for creating societies and sustaining cities that value and respect cultural diversity and human rights.

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