Geographies of Displacement in the Creative City: The Case of Liberty Village, Toronto

TLDR

Creative industries are increasingly linked to employment, tourism, and talent attraction in economic development discourse. The paper foregrounds the interests and political implications of promoting the creative city and analyzes new industry formation in Liberty Village, a cultural precinct in inner‑city Toronto. The study focuses on place‑making strategies in constructing Liberty Village and examines displacements at city, neighbourhood, and precinct scales. The examination of these displacements highlights the contested nature of the creative city narrative.

Abstract

Creative industries are increasingly associated with employment, tourism and the attraction and retention of talent in economic development discourse. However, there is a need to foreground the interests involved in promoting the creative city and the political implications of such policies. This paper analyses new industry formation in Liberty Village—a cultural industry precinct in inner-city Toronto, Canada. The focus is on the place-making strategies at work in constructing Liberty Village. In particular, the paper explores a series of displacements associated with creative districts, focusing on three scales in particular—the level of the city, the neighbourhood and the precinct itself. An examination of these displacements foregrounds the contested nature of the creative city script.