Image displaying 3 cultural landmarks, including Hollywood Theate, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, and Arbutus Coffee cafe

Vancouver modernizes Heritage Register with a focus on reconciliation and cultural heritage

October 8 2024 –

Today, Vancouver City Council unanimously approved upgrades to the Vancouver Heritage Register (VHR) to better reflect the rich diversity of peoples, histories and cultures that make up our city.

This follows Council direction to staff to simplify the criteria for adding new buildings to the VHR and make it easier for a wider range of cultural and historical assets to be recognized and preserved. The changes will provide clarity to developers, property owners and the public on the purpose of the VHR and streamline permitting processes.

A broader definition of Heritage

Before the upgrade, the VHR criteria heavily privileged tangible heritage, particularly Eurocentric design and history. The VHR evaluation criteria will now extend beyond the physical, architectural elements to consider intangible heritage elements associated with a place, such as:

  • cultural traditions, ways of life, memories and lived experiences
  • a person, community, and/or organization
  • certain design, materials, and technology

A City of Reconciliation

The City engaged extensively with the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, working collaboratively to develop a Truth-Telling Statement and land acknowledgement.

These additions, featured prominently in the updated VHR, recognize how the VHR has historically contributed to the erasure of Indigenous history and affirms the City’s ongoing commitment to working with the Nations in the development of new, culturally appropriate tools to identify, steward and share Indigenous cultural heritage.

For more information about the upgraded VHR, please visit: Vancouver Heritage Register (VHR) | City of Vancouver