Abstract
In order to remain alive and relevant, cultural heritage sites have to react and adapt to changing context in a coherent manner, i.e., in a way that is in line with the memory and identity of the place. The incoherent changes, i.e., the transformations that according to the local community do not agree with a character of a place, can be destructive for the long-term vitality of urban cultural heritage. In this study, we test which factors influence social acceptance of different alternations within the context of urban historical gardens that might, in turn, ensure the resilience of the place. Our study focuses on the intangible qualities of the place measured by intrinsic value, perceived essentialism and anti-essentialism as important predictors shaping the response to change. The correlational study was conducted using an online questionnaire designed to empirically grasp intangible qualities of cultural heritage sites. Five hundred twenty-nine responses were included in the analysis. The study shows that perceived historic value, inherent value (uniqueness and importance of the place) and (anti-)essentialist character of a place capture the differences between parks well and enables the finding of interventions that are coherent with a site’s genius loci. Measuring intangible qualities of urban gardens can help to design changes that find higher approval among local community members and users of the site. We discuss how the analysis of an intrinsic value and essentialism allows for planning better spatial interventions that align with the human-centered approach to urban development.
Highlights
Urban cultural heritage is an expression of the well-established communal ways of life, organized around certain values, customs and places [1], creating a link between the past and the present
The historic value was higher for Saxon Garden (M = 4.93, SD = 1.72) than for Open Jazdow (M = 4.61, SD = 1.7), a statistically significant difference, M = −0.32, 95%
We focused on two qualities of cultural heritage: intrinsic value as a combination of historic value and uniqueness that evokes attachment [1,11], as well as perceivedessentialism [38]
Summary
Urban cultural heritage is an expression of the well-established communal ways of life, organized around certain values, customs and places [1], creating a link between the past and the present. While some of the heritage sites become ‘petrified’ in their form and function, others remain breeding ground for new activities and innovations. The change in the latter seems to be a natural extension of the existing functions and the physical form of the place. The social perception of planned interventions in cultural heritage sites depends on the qualities of places [3], communities’ and individual preferences, as well as expected effect of the change on the local well-being —some changes boost the livability and happiness of communities in a balanced manner, others influence one aspect of life at the cost of another
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