Abstract
This paper reflects on Common-places (2019), a project that was developed in Sheffield on the invitation of Site Gallery to participate in their ‘City of Ideas’ programme. Amidst the urban regeneration processes that are reshaping the city, this programme offered the opportunity to think about novel approaches that art and interdisciplinary practices could bring to processes of urban change. Common-places was proposed as a participatory workshop that engaged the local community, by inviting them to recognise the things they ‘hold dear’ about the areas in which they live or work. The premise was to identify forms of material and immaterial value that would reveal the ‘character’ of a place and its forms of use-value that are important to a local community. The intention was to develop a set of tools to highlight, map, commemorate and ultimately protect this intangible heritage in the context of urban regeneration in Sheffield. The project addressed some of the existing challenges of integrating an expanded notion of heritage in urban planning. Moveover, it reflects on the importance of identifying the use-value of intangible heritage and embraces a more integral and holistic approach to city planning.
Highlights
Patrick Geddes, the Scottish polymath recognised for his innovations in town planning, posited that the past was a vital part of our social inheritance and offered opportunities - as well as impediments - to advancing the city of life
Part of the problem is the lack of documentation of intangible value, as the emphasis is placed on recording physical attributes and aesthetic values of the urban fabric
In doing so, questions arise about how these aspects can be incorporated within planning strategies: what constitutes use-value2 for a specific community in a given place? And is it possible to negotiate the protection of use-value in the context of urban change?
Summary
This paper reflects on Common-places (2019), a project that was developed in Sheffield on the invitation of Site Gallery to participate in their ‘City of Ideas’ programme. The project addressed some of the existing challenges of integrating an expanded notion of heritage in urban planning Moveover, it reflects on the importance of identifying the use-value of intangible heritage and embraces a more integral and holistic approach to city planning. As Harrison (2012, 115) reflects, critical heritage studies seem to be moving away from “a concern with the materiality of heritage to a concern with heritage as a discourse and a system of values”1 It delivers an expanded notion of urban heritage which incorporates both the tangible and intangible elements that inform how planning practices should focus on conserving the authenticity and integrity of the built environment. In doing so, questions arise about how these aspects can be incorporated within planning strategies: what constitutes use-value for a specific community in a given place? And is it possible to negotiate the protection of use-value in the context of urban change?
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