Built heritage resources are comprised of features modified by human activities that are of historical, architectural or engineering interest and can include buildings, structures, landscaping and plantings. Such features will often include archaeological components.
Cultural heritage landscapes are those landscapes made or modified by humans in the course of their daily lives. Cultural landscape has been referred to as nearly everything that we can see when we go outdoors. Moreover, all human landscape has cultural meaning, no matter how ordinary that landscape may be. In Ontario, cultural landscapes have been defined as “the use and physical appearance of the land as we see it now as a result of man’s activities over time in modifying pristine landscapes for his own purposes. A cultural landscape is perceived as a collection of individual man-made features into a whole”.
Cultural landscape in Ontario. |
When confronted with the management of all types of heritage resources, our clients often request additional assistance in the research, evaluation, planning, and development stages. To answer this need and to complement our core strengths in archaeology, ASI has expanded its Built Heritage and Cultural Heritage Landscape Planning Division. We are now able to offer a wide range of heritage consulting services within a single integrated firm including:
- Feasibility studies for development of cultural tourism attractions
- Heritage conservation district studies
- Site and district master plans, and development strategies
- Facilitation of consensus building and conflict resolution exercises
- Historical research
- Inventory and evaluation of built heritage and cultural landscapes
- Heritage impact assessments and significance studies
- Cultural resource management (heritage policy, conservation/mitigation strategies)