Thesis: Di Wu

Negotiating Heritage: Cultural Identity, Community Practice, and Preservation Practice in Toronto’s Chinatown

This thesis investigates the impact of historic preservation policies and grassroots community efforts on the cultural identity of Toronto's Chinatown. As urban redevelopment shapes the neighborhood, questions arise about whether preservation protects culture or merely stabilizes architecture. The study explores how preservation is negotiated in a diasporic context through archival research, field observations, and a series of semi-structured interviews with residents, business owners, artists, and organizers.

Key findings indicate a disjunction between government-led preservation frameworks and community perceptions of cultural value. Archival records, including the 1962 meeting between Chinese leaders and city officials, reveal the longstanding tension between development and cultural continuity. More recent cases, such as the opposition to mural projects by Friends of Chinatown Toronto, further highlight community resistance to top-down strategies perceived as "artwashing" or symbolic tokenism.