Abstract

MERCIER, GUY. CULTURAL DIMENSION OF THE URBAN RENOVATION: A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF CONTEMPORARY URBANISM. Investig. desarro. [online]. 2008, vol.16, n.1, pp.82-117. ISSN 0121-3261.

Using the example of the Saint-Roch district in Quebec City (Canada), this paper is an analysis of the rhetoric of urban discourse which for the last decade or so has driven and justified the revitalization project of older urban areas in North American cities. The goal here is to add from a cultural geography perspective to the understanding of this so-called new urbanism which seems to have great success in both practice and public opinion. This paper will firstly demonstrate that this discourse is built essentially as a self-criticism, since its fundamental principle is to recognize the failure of post World War II urbanism which favoured the renewal of older urban areas through large scale demolition and systematic reconstruction. Next, this paper explains that on this basis a set of figures has emerged which have paradoxically been used to justify: (1) the protection of built heritage while at the same time allowing for innovative uses of this heritage; (2) the diversity of uses of urban heritage while at the same time actively excluding certain options; (3) the necessity for participatory urbanism while at the same time acknowledging the impossibility of including certain social categories.

Keywords : New urbanism; urban renovation; urban patrimony; participative democracy; City of Quebec; city-planning narrative.

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