Couling Inventory Validation

Cultural Planning encourages recognition of a community's network of interrelated assets, and maintains that it is beneficial to conserve built cultural heritage resources. Many municipalities, including the City of Guelph, have undertaken cultural mapping initiatives, which are considered an initial step and a defining feature of this vein of planning. Guelph’s mapping initiative identifies the location of a variety of assets including buildings and structures; however, several non-designated or non-listed historic properties are currently not included. These resources are acknowledged in an inventory of over 2000 properties created by Gordon Couling – a notable figure in Guelph's heritage conservation movement. My project will assess the validity of Couling’s inventory, maintaining a specific focus on architectural and contextual value as defined by the criteria for determining cultural heritage value or interest provided by Ontario Regulation 9/06 within the Ontario Heritage Act (OHA). This research will assist the City of Guelph in deciding if they should pursue formal protection for individual resources, or if concentrations of significant properties represent potential heritage conservations districts.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Robert Shipley

Student:

Amy Calder

Partner:

City of Guelph

Discipline:

Urban studies

Sector:

Management of companies and enterprises

University:

University of Waterloo