From Cairo to Vancouver: a public dialogue
Urban Regeneration Not Gentrification: Using Heritage to Revitalize Marginalized Neighbourhoods
On Monday June 9, 2008 at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University, Bridges that Unite held a film screening, dialogue and reception. The film Let The Beauty We Love Be What We Do showcases the projects and activities of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.
In recent decades many inner city neighbourhoods in both the developed and developing world have suffered from severe socio-economic decline despite continued economic and urban growth. Eff orts to revitalize these neighbourhoods have often resulted in gentrifi cation, a process which forces the original lower income residents to leave or to become further impoverished. Although Cairo, one of the world’s largest cities, is a world away from Vancouver, the two cities nevertheless share the common challenge of deprived inner city neighbourhoods. Th ey also share a number of cultural, social, human and economic assets which can be used to promote urban revitalization.
In Cairo the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) has used the restoration of cultural assets, in particular the development of an enormous urban park and the mobilization of the community as a catalyst to alleviate poverty. Coupled with the support of targeted socioeconomic development programs, residents are improving their livelihoods and their quality of life. This story of urban revitalization and its lessons will resonate deeply with Vancouver residents who seek to harness the rapid growth of the city and major investments such as the building of Woodwards and the location of SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts.
Drawing on the case study of Cairo and local experiences in Vancouver, the dialogue explored how large scale cultural investments can be used to revitalize deprived neighbourhoods.
