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Relevance and Application of Heritage in Contemporary Society ed. by Pei-Lin Yu, Chen Shen, and George S. Smith (review)

This edited volume is the outcome of a Wenner-Gren funded workshop by the same name that took place at Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum in October 2016. In many ways it is a continuation of coeditor George Smith’s dedication to examining heritage in contemporary society from global perspectives, which has generated two edited volumes over the past decade (Smith, Messenger, and Soderland 2009; Messenger and Smith 2010). Many of the same experts gathered in Toronto to discuss growing areas of concern and relevance for heritage work. The workshop culminated in the promulgation of the Toronto Declaration. While the role of the declaration remains uncertain, it is a mandate for the relevance and inclusion of heritage in planning and decision-making across a wide range of urgent contexts, many of them explored in depth in the volume. The volume starts from the premise that cultural heritage is relevant and important in contemporary society. This may be obvious to people involved in heritage work, but it is a case that still needs to be made in arenas such as development, urban planning, disaster relief, war, immigration, and climate change. The contributors are heritage experts who work in varied national and Relevance and Application of Heritage in Contemporary Society. Edited by Pei-Lin Yu, Chen Shen, and George S. Smith. New York: Routledge, 2018. Pp. i + 215, 16 b/w illustrations. Hardback, $100.00. ISBN 978-1-62958-388-4. Paperback, $39.95. ISBN 978-1-62958-389-1. E-book, $31.16. ISBN 978-0-203-70227-7.