Living Heritage Site Research Articles

Mapping Living Heritage in Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area, Norfolk Island: Routes, Customary Practices and Emotions

ABSTRACT In heritage management plans, maps have long been used to draw boundaries around regions and plot natural and cultural sites, trails and routes. Attention to participatory mapping and counter-mapping has increased alongside trends towards bottom-up approaches to heritage that recognise local communities as experts in their own heritage. This article reflects on participatory mapping activities undertaken on Norfolk Island, home to the UNESCO World Heritage listed Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area. Since the production of the first management plan in 1980, heritage management of Kingston has overwhelmingly privileged the preservation and interpretation of its convict heritage, with historically little attention paid to the island’s past Polynesian settlement and the ongoing Pitcairn settlement since 1856. The article presents findings from collaborative mapping exercises centred on routes, customary practices, and emotions undertaken with Pitcairn Settler descendants and others with long and deep connections to Norfolk Island. In particular, we focus on participants’ commentaries on Kingston’s heritage management. Our analysis highlights the importance of protecting heritage in ways that account for everyday and contemporary experiences, emotional resonances, and unbounded uses of this living heritage site.

Can tourism enhance inclusitivity for indigenous peoples? Cham perspectives on tourism benefit sharing at living heritage sites in Vietnam

PurposeThrough a case study of the Po Klaong Girai temple in Vietnam, this paper explores how indigenous community perceive tourism benefit sharing (TBS) associated with their cultural tourism at sacred living-heritage sites and how this TBS enhances the equality and inclusion for indigenous community in the context of tourism in Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed ethnographic fieldwork and semi-structured interviews with 35 indigenous Cham priests directly associated with managing and preserving the Po Klaong Girai temple.FindingsThis research found that Cham community perceive inequality and exclusivity on tourism benefit sharing at this religious site. While Cham Ahier priests face economic barriers in providing these services to the community, annual tourism revenue is allocated to local government budgets. Such economic pressure forces the priests to seek alternative economic avenues to support their families at the expense of their traditional commitments to communal, cultural and religious activities, significantly impacting sustainable heritage conservation. This has led to strained relations between the local community and local authorities.Practical implicationsThis research provides evidence to improve living heritage management practices by proposing tourism development policies for equality and inclusion among stakeholders, especially minorities and disadvantaged groups. This can be an experiential and necessary lesson for “dealing” with sustainable heritage management in heritage living sites in other ethnic minority areas in Vietnam and globally.Originality/valueThe findings from this study address the knowledge gap on equitable revenue sharing in heritage tourism, where financial benefits from the commodification of minority cultures should be used to support local communities and the custodians of indigenous heritage.

COMMUNITY CO-CREATION IN LIVING HERITAGE CONSERVATION – FROM OBJECT-CENTERED TO PEOPLE-CENTERED PLANNING FOR THE ANCIENT CITY OF PINGYAO

Abstract. Since the conservation of living heritage sites such as historic towns and traditional villages often involves the coordination of multiple interests, the modern socio-economic development of heritage sites and the dominant participatory nature of local heritage communities become the main conflicts in practice. Using a combination of literature research and field cases, this paper firstly compares the history of the theoretical conservation approach to living heritage and explains its core concepts and basic methods. Secondly, it analyses the application and effectiveness of the community co-creation model in living heritage sites using the case of the ancient city of Pingyao in Shanxi Province, China. It is hoped that this will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the current development and future direction of heritage conservation methods, and further consider how to reconcile the historical and daily values of heritage in the conservation process.

The remediation of Kruger Cave: A Later Stone Age and living heritage site in the western Magaliesberg

We report on a programme of work to remediate Kruger Cave, a Later Stone Age painted rock shelter in the western Magaliesberg, South Africa. Kruger Cave, originally excavated in the 1980s and never backfilled or stabilised, has deteriorated through forty years of erosional and quotidian processes that have significantly reduced the extent of the archaeological deposit. The cave is currently occupied by a lay Christian pastor whose activities at the site place the remaining archaeological deposit at further risk. Remedial work was undertaken on what remains of the archaeology-bearing sediment. We also present the preliminary analysis from two small-scale excavations that aimed to document the site’s stratigraphy. We explore the ambivalence of Kruger Cave’s living heritage status within the context of current heritage management practices and discuss how our remedial work is designed to be responsive and respectful to both the archaeological and living heritage priorities.

Living heritage sites in the M'zab valley (Algeria): community and continuity

PurposeThe ancient settlements of the M'zab Valley in Algeria, called ksour, are still being used by local inhabitants a thousand years after their construction. The main objective of this study was to discover why, despite the formation of new residential areas, these settlements have been able to survive and maintain their original functions.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used the concept of living heritage sites as an analytical framework. The field data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed through qualitative content analysis.FindingsThis study revealed that the reasons for the survival of these settlements were cultural and social rather than physical. Four main factors play a role in the survival of these settlements: (1) solidarity and unity among the inhabitants, (2) built environment as an ancestral heritage and a symbol of identity, (3) comfort and convenience in ksour and (4) social control and adherence to tradition. However, some concerns have arisen in recent decades that may endanger the viability of these settlements in the future, requiring more attention from the government.Originality/valueWhile previous studies on urban heritage and World Heritage Sites (WHSs) have mainly focused on tourism development and conservation issues, this paper emphasized a less-studied aspect of these sites, i.e. continuity and sustainability. All previous studies on the WHSs of the M'zab Valley have addressed the traditional architecture and the climatic design of houses without sufficiently addressing other factors that have contributed to the sustainability and resilience of these settlements.

The impacts of world cultural heritage site designation and heritage tourism on community livelihoods: A Chinese case study

This article examines how cultural heritage conservation, often reflective of Western values, impacts local sustainable livelihoods (SL) in a living cultural heritage site. The article argues for the modification of the SL framework for analysing cultural heritage tourism through including an explicit focus on the transforming structures and processes of local livelihoods in Fujian tulou, China, a World Cultural Heritage Site. Drawing on data collected through in-depth interviews, non-participatory observations, and secondary sources, findings show that changes related to tourism development and heritage conservation can reduce the sustainability of livelihoods in living heritage sites. Tulou clusters tend to be regarded as tourist attractions and cultural relics rather than lived-in places. Traditional livelihoods have been affected as residents are forced to adapt to the demands of tourism. This research helps to expand the SL theory by incorporating cultural heritage capital and community self-organisation, and highlighting residents' self-controlled capacity toward assets.

Horse and rider: who will drive change in ethics and practices of globalised conservation on living heritage sites?

This article explores challenges that surround the implementation of conservation management strategies for living heritage in the context of two case study sites in India. Acknowledging that, in theory, ‘bottom-up’ strategies for expertise exist but are rarely constituted in practice, it presents two vivid but fragile examples where such possibilities might be observed. It first distinguishes the Indian Cultural Heritage context from many conventional conceptions of heritage, defined by its distance from the beholder. Vignettes illustrate how the complexity of simultaneous value systems and beliefs may confound precepts relating to the treatment of tangible heritage. A discussion of the role of the architect in drawing and model making in this context is promoted for the purpose of deeper documentation. It draws upon previous work, which has proposed the enhanced potential to record the ephemeral as well as the monumental using photogrammetry. Building on this, the role of 3D digital models has recently been suggested as a means to contribute to processes for mediating between contested conservation strategies. Challenges of heritage that is at risk of destruction from being overwhelmed by nature are separated from those associated with dereliction or, in this instance and most importantly, increased use. The two case studies, in north and south India – at Ajmer in Rajasthan and at Madurai in Tamil Nadu – are discussed in relation to other examples. These present the opportunity to consider in context how issues of the designation of value at a local or a global scale might relate to corresponding difficulties in terms of governance and control at local or global scales. It again emphasises the role and scope of deeper documentation for this purpose. In terms of safeguarding, it suggests that better means for deeper observation of existing practices of maintenance should specifically be incorporated in future work.

Is Living Heritage Ignored? Revisiting Heritage Conservation at Cham Living-Heritage Sites in Vietnam

ABSTRACT This study examines the heritage conservation of the Cham living heritage sites and perceptions of the Cham community in Vietnam. Data were collected using various methods, including participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and documentation, from a “living” sacred site of the Cham community in Ninh Thuan, Vietnam. This research demonstrates that the conservation of heritage in Vietnam has focused primarily on tangible forms of heritage, while local cultural meanings related to tangible aspects of the Cham temples have not been a central concern in heritage conservation practices. The construction of a new pathway is considered a significant offense to the Cham worldview with respect to cardinality and spiritual practice. Despite this addition’s intention to facilitate access for visitors to this site, the Cham people believe that it contributes to a denigration of the sacred character of their temple and has negative effects on religious views and understandings among members of the community. The findings suggest that Indigenous living heritage and its role in local communities need to be recognized in safeguarding heritage.

Continuous Space Production of Living Heritage Sites Based on TSL Model: A Case Study of the Old Town of Lijiang

Continuous Space Production of Living Heritage Sites Based on TSL Model: A Case Study of the Old Town of Lijiang

Conserving living heritage site in Portuguese settlement, Melaka world heritage site: issues and conservation elements

A living heritage site symbolizes the integration between tangible and intangible cultural heritage. It has a traditional community, or a specific area in the environment of a traditional settlement. Rapid urban development poses significant threats to heritage sites, with deterioration and destruction of heritage by introducing pollution, political wars, growing tourism activities, and natural disasters. Conservation of living heritage is by accenting the role of the core community staying in traditional settlements within the heritage area. The city of Melaka was declared as World Heritage Site in 2008 and the government engaged in significant urban development to accommodate the increasing number of tourists landing, and it has threatened its heritage site. Such act jeopardised the core community of Portuguese Settlement with the risk of obliteration of its cultural heritage in the future and this is due to insufficient conservation of community’s cultural heritage from soft infrastructure approaches. Hence, the purpose of this article is to highlight the issues faced by the Portuguese community and discuss elements of community participation, awareness, and stakeholder’s involvement to conserve the community’s cultural heritage. It is done by qualitative methods of interviews, and document analysis of relevant literature, reports and standards. The result reveals the main issues faced by the community are authenticity, vulnerability of modernisation and development hazard, and losing its community. The output of the paper would be beneficial to stakeholders, practitioners, and researchers to develop a sustainable community within the heritage site while maintaining its heritage value.

Cultural Landscapes in the Asia-Pacific: Re-focusing UNESCO Designation on Community Participation

World Heritage Sites, designated by UNESCO, are a growing phenomenon in global governance. Sites are nominated for their Outstanding Universal Values with the objective of protecting against potential threats from man-made or natural causes. This article focuses on one type of recognition, the Cultural Landscape, which is unique because it is a living heritage site. Within Cultural Landscapes, people continue to carry out their lives and livelihoods as part of the site. The aim of this article is to examine the way community participation takes place in the designation of Cultural Landscapes. Findings highlight some ideas for researchers and policymakers to re-examine blind spots relative to community participation and offer some considerations for more meaningfully engaging local voices, particularly with respect to vulnerable populations and generational transition. Overall, research on Cultural Landscapes need not only examine what is being protected, but also must explore the new institutions being established, which can transform sites from within.

Zoning for world heritage sites: dual dilemmas in development and demographics

Since listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS) in 1999, Hoi An Ancient Town in Vietnam has been transformed by tourism development with visitor numbers increasing more than sixteen-fold. Beyond positive economic impacts, tourism has generated considerable funds for conservation, with revenue assisting authentic restoration of the town’s historic center. However, tourism impacts have provoked criticism linked to social sustainability, examined in this paper using the core-and-buffer-zone principle - a neo-normative spatial planning framework. Our longitudinal, mixed-method analysis from development and demographic perspectives combines interviews and census data with spatial planning guidelines and maps. Findings show that architectural renovations, accompanied by stricter regulations and hierarchical World Heritage Site zoning, legitimized rapid development of Hoi An’s buffer zone in tandem with ‘museumification’ of the core, epitomized by the central clustering of traditional wooden architecture renovation projects. By 2010, population in the core had declined by 20% as ‘adaptive re-use’ of heritage buildings paved the way for conversion of private residences into shops or other services and the core transformed from living heritage into a tourism stage. Demographic and development trends reinforced the dual hierarchy, although attempts to mitigate museumification, including a series of craft villages around the perimeter, provided impetus for revitalization of the newly-expanded buffer zone. Our findings highlight certain implications of spatial zoning for social sustainability, pointing the way for better integration with adaptive re-use policies. Our study contributes to further the debate on social sustainability at a living heritage site by investigating the bipolarity between museumification of the core and concurrent development of the buffer zones. The implications of our study extend beyond the current context of developing Southeast Asia, as this paper draws parallels and expounds opportunities for more site-specific planning and management of World Heritage Sites.

The adaptive resilience of living cultural heritage in a tourism destination

This article analyzed a living cultural heritage destination’s adaptive resilience from the perspective of social-ecological systems (SES). The aim was to test the SES framework at Hoi An Ancient Town, a cultural World Heritage Site in central Viet Nam by (1) delineating the adaptive renewal cycle in the historical context of destination development; (2) examining community resilience to spatio-cultural changes induced by mass tourism; and (3) identifying characteristics of tourism systems via the control mechanisms of the panarchy’s cross-scale interactions. Findings from Hoi An extend the conventional SES approach by revealing the complex context of social relationships that typify human-related adaptation in cultural living heritage destinations. Contrary to conventional SES theory that depicts cross-scale interactions as one-way mechanisms, we propose a multidimensional model of twin interactions concurrently characterized by contrasting forces of bottom-up “revolt” and top-down “remember” functions. Findings from historical, contemporary and systematic dimensions shed light on incorporating Indigenous knowledge and practices into heritage conservation as a form of community resilience. Our analysis also extends the continuity notion of a living heritage site in developing countries, applying an SES framework to complex political, social, cultural and economic concerns in order to contextualize tourism development in Hoi An.

개인가치, 공정관광행동 그리고 지각된 관광갈등의 영향관계 : 정주형 문화유산관광지를 중심으로

개인가치, 공정관광행동 그리고 지각된 관광갈등의 영향관계 : 정주형 문화유산관광지를 중심으로

Assessing the values of living heritage sites in Kathmandu Valley: a community perspective

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the heritage values of two case study sites in the Kathmandu Valley using a living heritage approach by emphasising the role of the core community. The core community in a living heritage site is the community that created the site and maintained it over centuries, and will continue to do so into the future while adapting to change. Understanding the value of a site is important for the conservation of heritage because values help shape decisions on conservation. Assessment of heritage values helps to identify the values associated with heritage sites.Design/methodology/approachA case study approach was employed for the research. Questionnaire surveys were conducted with the core community and stakeholders. Surveys of the stakeholders looked for any difference in opinion between them and the core community. The empirical data were collected at two living heritage sites located in Kathmandu and Lalitpur in Nepal.FindingsThe findings of the paper provide insights for the conservation of living heritage in the Kathmandu Valley. It shows how the community perceives and assesses the significance of heritage sites. It also shows the values considered important by the core community and stakeholders, and the values that have changed over the years. Aesthetic and architectural values were ranked high by the core community.Originality/valueThe approach employed was adopted to assess heritage values by the core community. A living heritage site is dependent on the core community, so their perception of heritage value is important and should be the basis of conservation of living heritage. This paper provides a framework for conserving and managing heritage sites by the core community with support and guidance from wider community members and government authorities.

정주형 생활유산 관광자의 정서적 이미지 포지셔닝 : 북촌한옥마을, 안동하회마을, 외암민속마을, 전주한옥마을을 대상으로

본 연구는 정주형 생활유산 관광자의 정서적 이미지 분석을 주요 연구목적으로 한다. 이를 위해 본 연구는 북촌한옥마을, 안동하회마을, 외암민속마을, 전주한옥마을의 4개소를 연구대상지로 선정하였다. 본 연구는 연구대상지를 실제 방문한 관광객들을 대상으로 설문조사를 진행하였으며, 404명의 유효한 관광자들의 정서적 이미지를 분석하였다. 또한 본 연구는 다차원척도법의 PROXSCAL 모형과 어의구별척을 이용하여 정서적 이미지에 대한 포지셔닝맵을 도출하였다. 주요 연구결과, 4개소의 정주형 생활유산의 주요 정서적 이미지는 ‘아름다운’, ‘전통적인’, ‘매력적인’ 이미지로 나타났으며, 4개 대상지별로 정서적 이미지가 다소 차이가 있는 것으로 분석되었다. 이러한 연구결과는 정주형 생활유산의 문화관광 수요를 창출하는 전략개발에 활용될 수 있고, 궁극적으로 이들 대상지가 사회문화적으로 지속가능한 관광개발을 추진하는데 있어 기여할 수 있을 것이다.

Contributions of a Heritage Values-based Approach to Rock Art Management. Lessons from the Maloti-Drakensberg World Heritage Site, South Africa

This paper is based on rock art sites of the Maloti-Drakensberg massif (South African part), where more than 600 decorated shelters have thus far been identified. Being both institutionalised heritage sites open to the public and living heritage sites associated with various social practices and utilizations, their preservation requires us to consider the complexity of the values attributed to them. Combining a multidisciplinary and empirical approach, our paper highlights the processes of hybridization between attributed values, which therefore do not adhere to a strict category approach. Being strongly linked to the contexts in which they are articulated, their identification is coupled with a consideration of the macrodynamics in which rock art sites are integrated, as well as an analysis of the links between these different contexts and the value systems identified. In conclusion, the operational dimensions of such a methodology is questioned and some initial possibilities for action are proposed.

Heritage Conservation: Authenticity and Vulnerability of Living Heritage Sites in Melaka State

Heritage Conservation: Authenticity and Vulnerability of Living Heritage Sites in Melaka State

Exploring the Living Heritage of Galle Fort: Residents’ Views on Heritage Values and Cultural Significance

The Galle Fort of Sri Lanka was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1988 by UNESCO on the basis of criterion (iv) of the outstanding universal value (OUV), which places clear emphasis on the physical exceptionality of the site. Its living, intangible heritage is only given partial recognition in the definition of cultural and universal significance of the place. At present, the living heritage of Galle Fort is a forgotten and neglected entity. Emerging theories on heritage discourse recognize that the OUV of living heritage sites are in a state of evolution and transformation and is not a, fixed notion that remains unchanged in time and place. This aspect requires frequent exploration in order to determine necessary improvements to be made to conservation and management strategies. The article focuses on heritage values attached to Galle Fort by its living community. In-depth interviews with a cross section of the community disclosed that the residents of Galle Fort lay greater emphasis on the social value of the place. They have pronounced concerns on the risks posed to the social value by commercial and tourism gentrification taking place. The study raises awareness of the importance of the residents’ values in informing, guiding, managing and conserving the cultural significance and OUV of Galle Fort for posterity.

Culinary tourism as living history: staging, tourist performance and perceptions of authenticity in a Thai cooking school

ABSTRACTThis study examined how a cooking school in Thailand acted as a site of living history in its staging and touristic experience of authenticity. The cooking school was one of the oldest, most visited and most comprehensively “staged” cooking schools in Bangkok. Research focused on understanding: (a) the nature of spatial and temporal staging of authenticity in the school, (b) tourists’ perceptions of authenticity and (c) parallels between the cooking school and living heritage sites. Findings showed that the cooking school was carefully designed to transport tourists from the heterogeneous tourist spaces of present-day Bangkok to the idealized, enclavic space of an imagined Thai culinary past. Tourists took on multiple roles, had rich sensory experiences, felt a sense of play and space–time transcendence, and revelled in close social relations with hosts and other tourists. These factors allowed them to experience multiple forms of both modernist and post-modernist authenticity. In its scenography, interpretative performance, narrative and rituals, the cooking school did indeed resemble a living history site. However, the school made no particular claim to expertise in Thai history, place or culinary culture, and tended more towards touristic entertainment, and less towards accurate historical and cultural visitor education.