Heritage (tangible, natural, and cultural) and Place have a mutually symbiotic relationship, and much intangible heritage has a strong place-based association and origin. Both heritage and place are multi-layered and change over time, physically and through people’s perceptions and values. All heritage is not, however, treated equally, and engagement and participation in heritage activity is uneven across social groups. We argue that greater focus is needed on hidden and everyday heritage, and also on the experience and interpretation of designated heritage assets in order to better reflect and represent contemporary society. UK Cities of Culture provide a valuable opportunity to drive placeshaping efforts and improve impacts from local heritage engagement through the involvement of host communities and the development of participatory co-produced research that employs socially engaged practices and spatial and visualisation approaches.

Please view the full paper on 'Maximising and Measuring the Value of Heritage in Place'.

Authors

Dr Graeme Evans is Professor Emeritus at University of Arts London. He has advised the DCMS, Historic England and ACE on culture & regeneration and placemaking and convenes the RSA Mega Events Research network.

Dr Geoff Willcocks is Cultural Consultant in the Regional Strategy and Partnership Team at University of Warwick. He is also Vice Chair of Historic Coventry Trust and Chair of the Cathedral Quarter Alliance.