The Civic Assets Project

The Civics Assets Project is centred upon the recognition, preservation, and repositioning of a particular class of real estate assets that have played a central role in the weaving of our urban fabric and civic society. They are the transit stations, the post offices, the schools, the libraries, the churches, the coffee houses, the sports halls, et al that through their location and primal function have served to cross-cut the multiple social strata of a our urban centres, generating places that were open to all, that belonged to all, and that have served to connect all – through both time and place. The value of these assets are often manifold. Because these assets served primary civic functions, they are often historic properties, and because they emerged from and served central needs, they are often strategically positioned within urban centres.

While the frameworks that recognize the value of these exemplary facets are well established – heritage conservation and the real estate market, respectively – what remains underdeveloped are the frameworks by which to recognize, preserve and perpetuate their civic value, or in other words, the role they played (and might continue to play) within the formation and functioning of our civic society and social fabric. The Civic Assets Project is thus designed to fill this void within our contemporary development frameworks. In the face of rapidly evolving urban change, it challenges contemporary unidimensional modes of value attribution, to assert – through both theory and practice – the latent value found within the interconnection of the social, physical and economic dimensions of certain real estate assets. It is a project to create a progressive development model that might leverage each of these dimensions towards a greater whole, and in so doing manifest the unique legacy and potential of our Civic Assets.