A Field Guide to Tactical Heritage Urbanism Volume 1: October 2016 | Page 61

In Bear Creek, Yukon, we identified roles for new, small-scale industries to
suit the use and cultural heritage of the former mining site. The existing
large-scale industrial buildings could provide a historical backdrop – and
supportive tourist attraction – to a new makerspace or local manufacturing
hub for entrepreneurial businesses. While the Friends of the Klondike group,
the nearby Dawson City community and site administrator Parks Canada
are just beginning a feasibility study on re-opening the site, the exercise of
exploring the future through the lens of these Cultural Economic Drivers
helps articulate an incremental, sustainable way forward.

Put the ‘use’
back into
adaptive reuse
This holistic, incremental approach to tangible and intangible heritage,
as well as the community-driven design process used to identify what
is of value to residents, allows the small program to identify uniquely
place-based cultural economic opportunities that combine local values
with regional—and perhaps global—strategies.

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