Inscribing Universal Values into the Urban Landscape: New York, Jerusalem, and Winnipeg as Case Studies

Abstract

The growing importance of culture in contemporary society and the rising importance of tourism in the economic base of postindustrial cities have, in recent years, led to the construction of new "flagship-museums" characterized by their size and spectacular architecture. Their purpose is to capture the public imagination, to attract tourists, and to promote the notion that those cities have successfully transformed themselves from centers of manufacturing into centers of culture. These trends have also given rise to a new breed of museums: institutions established by foundations with value-laden educational agendas such as freedom, tolerance, and human rights. This phenomenon is also characterized by gigantic public and private investment in the structures that host the "collections," and by the use of signature architecture. This article, based on three case studies, will examine the emergence of this new extension to the "flagshipmuseum paradigm" of urban development.