Indigenous placemaking and the built environment: toward transformative urban design

ABSTRACT

This paper examines how the design and programming of the built environment of settler cities have contributed to the invisibility of Indigenous peoples and minimizing their cultural influence. It seeks to address gaps in the academic literature on Indigenous placemaking and urban design. Indigenous placemaking has the capacity to create positive symbolic capital associated with Indigenous peoples, empowering urban inhabitants in their cultural representation, and advancing the project of truth and reconciliation. To transcend beyond tokenism, Indigenous cultures projected in built form should not be subordinated by settler mainstream decision-making frameworks.

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge Yale Belanger, Brenda Macdougall, and Loleen Berdahl for their contributions to the overall research program.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada [435-2013-0920].