Treasure Amongst the Ruins: The Policy and Practices of Adaptive Reuse of Urban Industrial Buildings in Ontario
Abstract
The practice of adaptive reuse is a unique concept of city building, where demolition and traditional brownfield redevelopment have been common practice. Though an already established method, adaptive reuse is becoming increasingly popular due to a greater intensity to protect heritage, reuse materials and structures, and offer unique architectural spaces. To achieve this, there must be sufficient policy in place to incentivize and mitigate the increase cost and risk which are usually associated with this type of development. This thesis combines a province-wide content analysis of Official Plans in Ontario’s 51 cities, with a more in-depth case study investigation on how adaptive reuse is implemented through policy and practice in London, Ontario. This thesis illustrates that cities in Ontario are actively promoting reuse as a tool for several of today’s planning predicaments such as: affordable housing, intensification, revitalization in the urban core, and creating spaces for creative and vibrant industries. However, when investigating the policy more closely, it seems that many initiatives are superficial in nature, and more closely resemble buzzword or fast policy.