Heritage conservation planning in Saint John, New Brunswick: The importance of heritage conservation and looking to a future with social justice

Abstract

Canada has a long history of Heritage conservation across all levels of government and through the use of many different tools. Canada is also a multicultural diverse nation, but often it has focused on one dominant narrative in heritage, often centered on the affluent and rich or colonial powers. Heritage is not just built aesthetic style, but the intangible evolution of our relationships with space. Heritage is part of our identity and fosters a sense of community; without the full story we are lesser. We need to ask ourselves, who and how is heritage designated in our system, whose heritage has this conserved, and as we move forward, how can we bring a social justice lens to our planning. Using a case study of Saint John, New Brunswick, the oldest incorporated city in Canada with a large amount of conserved heritage, we can start to see who has been involved in designating and conserving heritage. Interviews with people involved will also help to bring into focus perceptions of who decides what is heritage worthy and how they think we could improve heritage planning. We are trying to improve our planning system so that in the future, our heritage conservation better reflects our diversity as Canadians.