Economic evaluation of urban heritage: An inclusive approach under a sustainability perspective

Abstract

Abstract This paper proposes an operational analysis grid to evaluate the economic interest of rehabilitation or renovation projects linked to urban heritage. Monetary and non-monetary indicators are both useful for this evaluation. Developers currently view urban heritage as a resource for their field. This view has led the developers to estimate the economic value of urban heritage when standard tools of economic analysis, which only focus on use values, are unable to provide clear results. We advance an operational economic definition of urban heritage. Our definition of urban heritage is described as inclusive because it includes four series of interdependent economic, social, cultural and environmental elements. At the heart of the process of patrimonialisation is conservation and the transmission of heritage to future generations. As environmental economists advance an economic definition of sustainability, the definition of “strong sustainability” appears to be particularly relevant for the evaluation of urban heritage. Above certain thresholds, the four different dimensions of urban heritage are complementary, rather than substitutable, and the loss of one of these dimensions would be irreversible. We examine sustainability through the dynamics of accumulation in the four dimensions of urban heritage and conclude by identifying the thresholds and risks that might weigh on heritage rehabilitation or renovation projects.