Place Making, Keeping, and Guarding: A Museum/Cultural Centre in a Gentrifying Ethnic Enclave

Neighbourhoods experiencing multiple waves of redevelopment may include residents with various reasons for supporting or resisting a museum or cultural centre. The data were collected and triangulated from a mixed-methods survey of 48% of residents ( n = 195), qualitative interviews with neighbourhood-association attendees ( n = 17), field notes, and archival data representing stakeholder groups. Survey questions focused on resident ratings of the importance of specific components of proposed development, neighbourhood-association organizational collective efficacy, and demographic variables. Sample demographics represent three groups: generational, predominantly Indigenous and Latinx residents; those who had relocated to the neighbourhood during urban renewal; and newer residents who represent neighbourhood demographics of the city as a whole. The three groups show mean differences in their answers to survey questions based on length of time in the neighbourhood .  Models created from the results show differences among the three groups’ reasons for their support of a heritage museum or cultural centre. Thematic analysis of survey and interview data from generational and newer-resident perspectives resulted in themes focused on development that maintains culture. Study results highlight differences in priorities among newer residents and planners who focus on tourism and streetcar-related economic development versus generational residents and activists who focus on people, culture, and place.