ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on a comparative analysis of cultural mapping initiatives in the Province of Ontario. Ontario has developed a detailed protocol for cultural mapping, as well as a program to support mapping projects. The Government of Ontario has taken an active interest in the topic since the early 2000s, organizing a series of municipal cultural planning forums between 2005 and 2007 to highlight the importance of culture-led economic and community development. It subsequently formed a nonprofit coalition of provincial government agencies, municipalities, cultural service organizations, postsecondary institutions, and others, called Municipal Cultural Planning Incorporated (MCPI) that has widely promoted cultural planning and cultural mapping. The emphasis on tangible cultural resources with geographic reference points serves as an additional incentive to focus on a map of physical assets as the final product. The methodologies promoted by the Ontario government favor cultural mapping aimed at municipal development, particularly in an urban setting.
