(This article was originally published in Ontario Planning Vol. 29 No. 3, May/June, 2014)

Summary: This article highlights two examples of cultural venues’ contributions to downtown vitality – Brantford and Ottawa. Harmony Square in Brantford was created to spark outdoor programming in a struggling downtown and the Bytown Museum, an old museum at the foot of Parliament Hill which is trying to make itself relevant to the dynamic downtown community around it in a city of one million people.