Heritage Management Processes Research Articles

Dissecting authorised participation in cultural heritage

ABSTRACT Participatory processes are a democratic tool in the field of cultural heritage, but what happens when the whole process revolves around a set of expert premises? How symbolic and authoritative would such participation be? This article will reflect on the dynamics of citizen participation and the power of institutional narratives focused on urban cultural heritage. Thus, this work proposes a methodological review and discussion through a case study where citizen participation is addressed as a process within the service of citizens: the refurbishment and design of new spaces within La Model prison complex in Barcelona. The aim is to explore whether institutionalised participation continues to be a symbolic tool that supports the authorised heritage discourses or if, conversely, it is enabling the embodiment of the multivocality of the stakeholders involved in the heritage management process in an effective way. This study concludes with a discussion that invites cultural heritage researchers to reflect on the difficulties involved in organising less-authorised proposals in the field of cultural heritage management.

„Oddziedziczanie” dziedzictwa

“INHERITING” HERITAGE: REMOVAL OF SOVIET MONUMENTS IN THE BALTIC STATES The aim of this article is an analysis of the process of removing the Soviet monuments including the objects commemorating the Red Army and those glorifying the Soviet regime, which were created during the occupation of the Baltic states by the USSR. After the spontaneous process of destroying the monuments and their removal in the 1990s, many of them remained in public spaces of the sovereign states. In recent years, due to Russia’s occupation of Crimea (2014) and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine (2022), the governments of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have taken active steps to dismantle monuments that are a symbol of Russian imperialism and falsification of history. The author draws attention to the process of heritage management, in which certain meanings are accepted and reinforced, while others are marginalised and rejected. Gregory Ashworth’s heritage paradigm will be used to analyse the research topic, according to which heritage is a process of selective acceptance or rejection of elements of the past in response to the current social, political and economic needs.

Screening the stones of Venice: Mapping social perceptions of cultural significance through graph-based semi-supervised classification

Mapping cultural significance of heritage properties in urban environment from the perspective of the public has become an increasingly relevant process, as highlighted by the 2011 UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL). With the ubiquitous use of social media and the prosperous developments in machine and deep learning, it has become feasible to collect and process massive amounts of information produced by online communities about their perceptions of heritage as social constructs. Moreover, such information is usually inter-connected and embedded within specific socioeconomic and spatiotemporal contexts. This paper presents a methodological workflow for using semi-supervised learning with graph neural networks (GNN) to classify, summarize, and map cultural significance categories based on user-generated content on social media. Several GNN models were trained as an ensemble to incorporate the multi-modal (visual and textual) features and the contextual (temporal, spatial, and social) connections of social media data in an attributed multi-graph structure. The classification results with different models were aligned and evaluated with the prediction confidence and agreement. Furthermore, message diffusion methods on graphs were proposed to aggregate the post labels onto their adjacent spatial nodes, which helps to map the cultural significance categories in their geographical contexts. The workflow is tested on data gathered from Venice as a case study, demonstrating the generation of social perception maps for this UNESCO World Heritage property. This research framework could also be applied in other cities worldwide, contributing to more socially inclusive heritage management processes. Furthermore, the proposed methodology holds the potential of diffusing any human-generated location-based information onto spatial networks and temporal timelines, which could be beneficial for measuring the safety, vitality, and/or popularity of urban spaces.

Sensory Ecofeminism for Heritage, Tourism, and Sustainability in Mauritius

Worldwide, UNESCO provides a global and authorized set of protocols for the conservation of heritage. The organization has long framed the discourse and practice of cultural heritage management. At the Hangzhou International Congress in 2013, UNESCO declared culture as key to development, thereby confirming the role of culture and cultural heritage in sustainable development. In this article, attention is given to emerging sensory ecofeminism and its links to heritage and tourism in Mauritius, specifically in “unauthorized” heritage management locales and hotel settings. The research problem engaged in this study is that globally, heritage conservation is perceived as being of primary interest to UNESCO, the prerogative of authorized professionals and nominated heritage sites. The goal of the research is to understand the manifestation of cultural heritage and its management in coastal locales and how coastal sites and “unauthorized” heritage managers, hitherto not included in national heritage discourse and practice, may advance inclusive heritage management. Using the anthropological research methods of semi-structured interviews and participant observation to produce ethnographic data in 2022, this study finds that a selection of luxury hotels in Mauritius advances a gender-influenced and ecofeminist discourse that supports heritage, tourism, and sustainability in Mauritius. The conclusion of this study is that “unauthorized” heritage management processes and practices in luxury hotels and tourism establishments can be gender and community inclusive, sensitive to various social hierarchies, and required to achieve environmental sustainability. It is recommended that national heritage institutions and practitioners give more attention to the diverse, often unexpected locales for heritage conservation and inclusion.

CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL TOURISM AS A DIRECTION OF USING AND PROTECTING THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE REPUBLIC OF CRIMEA

The article substantiates the role of cultural and educational tourism in the popularization of the cultural heritage of the Republic of Crimea, reflects the importance of cultural tourism for the formation of national consciousness of citizens, examines the main objects of cultural heritage of the region, identifies the problems and prospects of using the cultural heritage of the region in tourism.
 Cultural heritage is the most important resource for regional development, including cultural and educational tourism, which can be considered as an effective factor contributing to familiarization with the cultural heritage of the region, therefore, research aimed at developing methodological foundations for a balanced interaction of cultural heritage management processes and the development of tourism activities based on its use is relevant.
 The purpose of the study: to substantiate the importance of cultural and educational tourism in promoting the cultural heritage of the Republic of Crimea and to identify current problems of their use in tourism.
 The methodological basis of the research is the philosophical principles of cognition; dialectical, logical and systematic approaches to the consideration of phenomena and processes, as well as general scientific methods: analysis and synthesis to substantiate theoretical propositions, generalization, systematic approach and formal logic to deduce the content of relevant concepts.
 The preservation of cultural heritage and its rational use are crucial for the sustainable attraction of tourist flows and the improvement of socio-economic indicators of the region. The activation of cultural and educational tourism throughout the Crimean region can contribute to the development of other sectors of the tourism industry and, of course, will have a positive impact on the preservation of cultural heritage.

“Do I See What You See?”—Differentiation of Stakeholders in Assessing Heritage Significance of Neighbourhood Attributes

Although attention for citizen involvement in urban development and heritage management processes is growing, both in practice and in research, the specifics of stakeholders’ interests have been less researched. This paper reveals and discusses the assessment by individuals and groups, to differentiate stakeholders, based on the heritage significance they convey on neighbourhood attributes. Fifty-nine interviews on a Dutch neighbourhood in Amsterdam Zuidoost were analysed integrating quantitative and qualitative methods. Results confirm important differences between and within stakeholder groups regarding their interest in particular attribute categories and scales, indicating the need to further specify stakeholders beyond the commonly used ‘community’ and ‘experts’. The identification of stakeholder interests is important to involve relevant groups in the identification and designation of significant attributes, buildings, and areas and to anticipate potential conflicts or shared interests in neighbourhood renovation processes.

A critical examination of the impact of power relations on the management of walled Nicosia's architectural heritage

PurposeThe contested urban fabric of walled Nicosia is closely connected with narratives of conflict that materialise in the historic built environment of the city. Following the 1974 permanent division of the island of Cyprus, management of its capital's urban heritage is realised through a dual approach between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot Municipalities. In many circumstances, this duality is manifested in the historic built environment of the city, which in turn affects public engagement and perception. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact on power relations following the political division of Nicosia, in order to unveil existing parameters affecting its heritage and heritage management. Methodology/approachFollowing a systematic review of relevant literature on Nicosia and the concept of power, this paper examines the manifestation of power relations on the tangible fabric of its walled city. To ensure the reliability of the study, the empirical findings of the researcher are supported by interviews with relevant stakeholders. In this vein, a focused analysis of stakeholders’ perceptions, roles and interactions in the heritage management process and the various issues associated with this imbalance of power are examined, demonstrating the significance of the concept in contested environments such as that of walled Nicosia. FindingsThe results expand on considerations beyond tangible division and raise concerns linked to funding difficulties, public participation, and administrative limitations deriving from the political segregation of the island. The relevance of stakeholder engagement on the planning and wider management of walled Nicosia's contested heritage is further highlighted through the interview findings. Originality/valueThis research contributes to the academic discussion about Nicosia's heritage by introducing new topics associated with the division of the city. These include issues derived from the ongoing power imbalance between - and within - the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot Municipalities, and the subsequent impact these have on heritage. In doing so, the creation and dissemination of new knowledge on the particularities of the walled city is achieved. These in turn seek to encourage a more informed heritage protection on either side of the divide respectively.

Sensing the Cultural Significance with AI for Social Inclusion

Social Inclusion has been growing as a goal in heritage management. Whereas the 2011 UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) called for tools of knowledge documentation, social media already functions as a platform for online communities to actively involve themselves in heritage-related discussions. Such discussions happen both in “baseline scenarios” when people calmly share their experiences about the cities they live in or travel to, and in “activated scenarios” when radical events trigger their emotions. To organize, process, and analyse the massive unstructured multi-modal (mainly images and texts) user-generated data from social media efficiently and systematically, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is shown to be indispensable. This thesis explores the use of AI in a methodological framework to include the contribution of a larger and more diverse group of participants with user-generated data. It is an interdisciplinary study integrating methods and knowledge from heritage studies, computer science, social sciences, network science, and spatial analysis. AI models were applied, nurtured, and tested, helping to analyse the massive information content to derive the knowledge of cultural significance perceived by online communities. The framework was tested in case study cities including Venice, Paris, Suzhou, Amsterdam, and Rome for the baseline and/or activated scenarios. The AI-based methodological framework proposed in this thesis is shown to be able to collect information in cities and map the knowledge of the communities about cultural significance, fulfilling the expectation and requirement of HUL, useful and informative for future socially inclusive heritage management processes.

To Ring or Not to Ring: What COVID-19 Taught Us about Religious Heritage Soundscapes in the Community

Despite church bell ringing being directly influenced by purposive human action, often as a liturgical function, it creates a community soundscape with ascribed heritage values. While general heritage management processes and decisions are informed by heritage professionals with a broader range of experience, we find that church bell ringing is contrary to this process. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how a stochastic disruptive event can dramatically alter soundscapes on a community-wide scale. Here, the effective power over bell ringing often rested with the individual clergy at the local level and is subject to that individual’s personal preferences. This has serious implications to non-traditional forms of heritage, such as intangible sounds and soundscapes. In realizing the value of sound signals and soundmarks, we highlight the need to formally recognize these sounds of religious settings and consider them in heritage frameworks.

Communities, Heritage and Planning: Towards a Co-Evolutionary Heritage Approach

ABSTRACT Community engagement is becoming a key part of heritage management processes. Community-heritage engagement, however, also means that heritage management processes become more dynamic and versatile, as participation and community engagement is often complex, multifaceted, open-ended and unpredictable. This paper introduces a third, more radical perspective on community-heritage engagement, which we coin ‘a co-evolutionary heritage approach’. We argue that a co-evolutionary heritage approach is alive to the adaptability, flexibility and complexity that comes with the diversity of heritage valuation by communities.

Eye-tracking support for architects, conservators, and museologists. Anastylosis as pretext for research and discussion

Conservators, museologists, and architects make extremely complex decisions capable of affecting the way people perceive monuments. One might give this idea deeper consideration while pondering anastylosis. One of the things a designer should do when selecting a method of merging together parts of a damaged monument is answer the question whether the chosen method will facilitate the interest of onlookers in the presented object. In which case will the observers spend most of their time looking at the authentic relic fragments and distinguishing between the old and the new parts? The definitions in force do not explain how to approach this topic. By using eye-tracking research, we can learn how observers look at historical objects that have been reassembled again. By combining the observation of visual behaviours with a survey of people looking at such objects, it is possible to see how the process of classifying what is new and old actually works. This knowledge allows for more conscious approach to heritage management processes. In future, results of eye-tracking experiments should help experts plan sustainable conservation projects. Thanks to knowing the reactions of regular people, one will be able to establish conservation programmes in which the material preservation of a monument will reflect the way in which this object affects contemporary onlookers. Such an approach ought to result in real social and economic benefits.

Stakeholder preference mapping: the case for built heritage of Georgetown, Malaysia

PurposeWhile there is an established body of literature that discusses the importance of stakeholder management, and also the need for involvement of all stakeholders so that all values of a heritage site can be captured in a heritage management plan, the concepts are not generally developed in ways that make them useful in practice. This research seeks to bring greater clarity to the practice of stakeholder engagement in built heritage, so that organisations can manage their stakeholders in ways that meet their strategic goals. This study proposes a novel method to identify stakeholders, a stakeholder preference mapping approach, which will depict their influence on decisions based on a of power-interest scale.Design/methodology/approachThis research posits a stakeholder preference mapping approach. Virtual Stakeholder Groups (VSG) were identified and stakeholder's significance impacts were measured using the RIBA Plan of Work 2013 to determine in-depth consideration of each stakeholder's power and interest against differing stages of a heritage project. Participants were convened through a 5-day workshop, consisting of 20 Malaysian and 19 international participants (80% academics and 20% Malaysian civil servants). The Multi-Attribute Decision Analysis (MADA) technique was then used to demonstrate how stakeholder identification and analysis can be used to help heritage teams meet their mandates.FindingsThe research identified eight virtual VSG (Extremist, Expert, Economic, Social, Governance and Tourists) and their scale of power-interest influence at different stages of the heritage management process. The findings reveal varying levels of engagement from each of the different groups of stakeholders at each work stage – with Stage 5 (Construction) being the least engaged.Originality/valueIt is anticipated that through stakeholder preference mapping, heritage teams can increase the robustness of their strategies by identifying and effectively managing the important concepts; heritage teams can effectively manage the interface between the many (often competing) demands of differing stakeholders. Using Georgetown as a case study, the research team were able to delineate the interaction and interplay between the various stakeholders in the complex decision-making processes for a UNESCO heritage site. Applying the RIBA 2013 Plan of Work as a framework to the heritage management process enables a formalised mapping approach to the process.

Remote Sensing for Cultural Heritage Assessment and Monitoring: The Case Study of Alba Iulia

In recent times, satellite-based remote sensing has a growing role in archaeology and inherently in the cultural heritage management process. This paper demonstrates the potential and usefulness of satellite imagery for the documentation, mapping, monitoring, and in-depth analysis of cultural heritage and the archaeological sites located in urban landscapes. The study focuses on the assessment and monitoring of Alba Iulia, which is one of the Romanian cities with the richest historical past. Multitemporal analysis was performed to identify the land use/land cover changes that might contribute to an increased cultural heritage vulnerability to natural disasters. A special emphasis was dedicated to the assessment of the built-up area growth and consequently of the urbanization trend over a large time interval (30 years). Next, the urbanization and urban area expansion impact was further analyzed by concentrating on the urban heat island within Alba Iulia city and Alba Iulia Fortress (located in the center of the city). As temperature change represents a key element of climate change, the temperature trend within the same temporal framework and its impact on cultural heritage were determined. In the end, with regard to the cultural heritage condition assessment, the research was complemented with an assessment of the urban ground and individual building stability, using persistent scatterer interferometry. The results contribute to the detailed depiction of the cultural heritage site in such a manner that the site is monitored over an extensive timeframe, its current state of conservation is accurately determined, and the future trends can be identified. In conclusion, the present study offers reliable results regarding the main factors that might endanger the cultural heritage site as a basis for future preservation measures.

A Review of the Role of Social Media for the Cultural Heritage Sustainability

During the last 20 years, with the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), an emerging interest has appeared in Digital Community Engagement (DCE) in the process of cultural heritage management. Due to a growing need to involve a broader community in the Historic Urban Landscape approach, social media are considered one of the most important platforms to promote the public participation process of urban heritage conservation in the context of rapid urbanization. Despite the growing literature on DCE, which has delivered a general overview of different digital technologies and platforms to enhance heritage conservation, little research has been done on taking stock of the utilization of social media in this process. This study aims to fill the research gap by providing a more comprehensive picture of the functionalities of social media platforms and their impacts on sustainable urban development through a systematic literature review. As a result, 19 out of 248 DCE relevant articles are selected as objects to illustrate the contribution of social media. The study identified the characteristics of these applied social media tools, explores their roles and influences in cases. The article concludes that social media offers a platform for a wider range of stakeholders to have a voice in the decision process of cultural heritage management, and it should be widely applied to encourage citizens from all over the world.

Archaeology, Heritage, and Public Participation

AbstractVarious descendant and community groups have long been involved in aspects of the discovery, investigation, preservation, and interpretation of archaeological remains and associated heritage. No longer content with merely being bystanders and even consultants, many have insisted on fully collaborating, co-creating, and controlling the archaeological and heritage management process. Despite the potential shared interests among archaeologists, local residents, and descendant communities, differences in ontologies, epistemologies, and deep-seated ethical values often pose challenges for an authentic collaborative archaeology that serves the needs and interests of multiple groups. In this article, I examine public participation in archaeology and heritage management, identify some of the gaps between prescription and practice, and suggest that we must adopt transformative values if we are to fulfill the promise of authentic collaboration.

The Importance of Oral History in (Industrial) Heritagisation

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee and its professional institutions, the international body of cultural and natural heritage, emphasise the importance of the human aspect, the individuals and groups who are involved in the heritage context: the authentic owner/practitioner; the contemporary local or inheritor; the professional, who understands; the policy maker, who protects, etc. Accordingly, in the heritagisation process, oral memories and interactions play defining roles on many levels. They can justify the heritage management process as well as construct what should be valued. This paper looks at this complex status and the roles oral history examples can have in the research and management process. The paper focuses on the intangible aspect within the category of industrial heritage as the specialised committee of UNESCO’S World Heritage Council defines and categorises it. Accordingly, it presents an international perspective, although heavily European-centred, as many critics have already expressed. The time frame focuses on the one and a half decades after 2003, when TICCIH, the International Committee for the Conservation of Industrial Heritage defined its objective; however, previous practices and research examples are mentioned as well. The paper is based on the comparative and textual analysis of theoretical texts (of oral history research), general guidelines (such as charters of the international heritage organisations), and case studies. The aim of the paper is not to provide a chronological overview of the overlaps between industrial and intangible heritage management in the European discourse but to point out the effective realisation of incorporating oral history into (industrial) heritage studies.

Gamle steinsamlingar; gravminne, ryddingsrøyser – eller kva?

This article discusses how to better unlock the information potential of unremarkable, though complex, prehistoric stone-built structures, by integrating the past 30 years worth of Nordic archaeological research results into aspects of the Norwegian Cultural Heritage Management processes. Traditionally, it has been rather commonplace to interpret such manmade collections of rocks as remains of either clearance of fields for agricultural purposes or as containers for burials, but this dichotomy should now be regarded as an oversimplification. The site of Orstad in the county of Rogaland, SW Norway, excavated in 2014, serves as a case study. This paper demonstrates how difficult it can be to put updated theories and methods into proper use in the field. Since these new research results call for changes in the approach to the subject were not sufficiently considered in the planning process, neither time nor budget allowed for an adequate examination of the individual structures and their context. This is likely to cause information loss, which creates challenges for both the excavation and post-excavation phases of an archaeological investigation. This paper stresses the need to update and improve how excavations of such sites are handled within Norwegian cultural heritage management. By applying new approaches, such localities can yield more information about the past than previously assumed.

Craftsman, informal heritage management and social capital in conserving chini-tikri work of Kosaituli mosque, Old Dhaka, Bangladesh

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a community-led “informal heritage management” of the chini-tikri work of Kosaituli mosque, Old Dhaka, Bangladesh. It critically explores the interrelationship between the craft, existing social capital and informal heritage management. Design/methodology/approach This paper assesses the existing local policies, strategies and the top-down conservation efforts led by government and identifies the shortcomings. The study uses Kosaituli mosque as a case study as it displays some of the finest surviving examples of the chini-tikri work. Using observation, open-ended interview and focus group discussion as research tools, the study explores the challenges that the craft and craftsman faces, how existing social capital supports the informal heritage management process and the interrelationship between these critical elements. Findings The results shows two clear issues. First, the informal heritage management system has been continuing to protect and manage the local heritage while fighting several challenges. Second, though they require external support, they want to keep the “community ownership.” The study recommends how the craftsman can be revived through incentives and capacity building to facilitate the survival of the craft with a three-step process: identifying the rare craftsmen, providing them due recognition and transferring the traditional knowledge to the next generation. Originality/value No similar prior studies were carried out in Old Dhaka that focus on this subject. This paper can contribute in new policy formation not only for Bangladesh but also will potentially guide other cities that face similar challenges of disappearing craft and craftsman.

Who Benefits from the Past? The Process of Cultural Heritage Management in the Field of Animation in Poland (The Case of the Se-Ma-For Film Studio in Łódź)

With a view to studying the social and institutional practices related to the post-1989 approaches to film animation under socialism, this article addresses the transformation of the state-owned Se-Ma-For Film Studio in Łódź and the private company that later took over its name (the Se-Ma-For Film Company). The chronological scope of the study extends from 1989 to 2016; however, to identify the impact of the 1989 watershed on the animation market in Poland, modalities of operation of animation film studios in state-socialism era are presented. This article addresses the question of which heritage communities work with the memory of the animated film studio in Łódź, as well as the issue of the ways in which cultural heritage management processes have taken place. The article makes the case that the approving attitude towards the organizational and aesthetic values of Poland’s film industry under socialism has become a characteristic feature of strategies leading to the cultural heritage management of Polish film animation from this period.In conclusion, the author asserts that the commercialization of the cultural heritage of the former state-owned studio benefited the economic and symbolic capital of two institutions, the Museum of Cinema and the Se-Ma-For Film Company, as well as the city of Łódź, which branded itself as a city of film.

Heritage Protection as Stabilization, the Emergence of a New ‘Mandated Task’ for UN Peace Operations

ABSTRACT The integration of new tasks like those of cultural and natural heritage management into the mandates of UN peace operations is usually presented as a burden, ‘a star on the top of the Christmas tree’ at a time of scarce human and budgetary resources for contemporary UN peace operations. Through a comparison of MINUSMA in Mali and MONUSCO in DRC, this article aims to demonstrate how, on the contrary, heritage management can bring consistency to the broader ‘stabilization’ mandate mainstreamed in UN peace operations. By creating new links between the seemingly dichotomous activities it encompasses, namely ‘support’ and ‘securization’ activities, this new type of mandated task can increase complementarity between civilian and military components of UN peace operations with regard to local population. As part of their stabilization mandates, both MINUSMA and MONUSCO were charged to protect heritage. Ultimately, the most decisive factor as to why heritage management created a virtuous circle in Mali and a vicious circle in DRC, seems to be the failure or the success on the part of peace operations to include local communities in the heritage management process, a task which is so far better performed by the civilian than by the military component.