RESIDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF LIVING IN A WORLD HERITAGE SITE (WHS) BACKGROUND
The enlisting of a site onto the World Heritage List is associated with many positive impacts. Research has extensively mapped these benefits: tourism, investments and civic pride. However, both, theory and practice warn for negative impacts (i.e. decrease in liveability, damages to heritage and increase in living costs) which results in conflict between and within stakeholder groups. Such conflicts are mainly caused by people viewing and using heritage differently. As Graham and Howard (2008) argue, different uses can be seen as a zero-sum game; by ‘creating’ (giving meaning and using) heritage you, by definition, disinherit the other’s meaning and inhibit the other’s use. This phenomenon of heritage being inherently conflictuous has been coined dissonance by Tunbridge and Ashworth (1996). As such, it is ethically relevant to become knowledgeable about who benefits, who pays the cost (in any way) and who makes decisions.
RESIDENTIAL HERITAGE SITES are a prime example in which conflict and opportunities are in an intricate play. The additional stakeholder group of residents is involved in these sites which increases the potential for conflict as residents are considered to have their own distinct set of resources and interests. These seemingly unavoidable conflicts are argued to be mitigatable which would result in harmony, as opposed to dissonance. Harmony can be achieved through uncovering frameworks of behavior and thought patterns; this would ideally lead to a mutual understanding and cooperative behaviour within and between stakeholder groups. Thus, the first step towards harmony is creating a nuanced understanding of the resident population.
AIM & RELEVANCE
Residents are scarcely involved in decisionmaking processes which is argued to be detrimental for a WHS’ future, especially with regards to tourism:
Understanding how locals perceive tourism and its impacts is paramount in planning, decisionmaking and policy development for sustainable tourism (Pavlić et al. 2019, p9). However, there is little qualitative research that assesses why and how certain residents perceive living in a WHS the way they do. Therefore, this poster will function as a short review by analyzing two quantitative articles to assess basic correlations between perceptions that can be used for further research.
Old Town of Dubrovnik, Croatia Negative attitude: 30.3% - Middle-Aged and Older - Living in OTD since birth - Average monthly income
Indifferent attitude: 31.2% - Younger - Living in OTD for at least 10 years - Below monthly average income
ADDITIONAL RESULTS • Age is considered the strongest indicator for perception • Gender, education level and occupation were found to be insignificant • Stressing the need for further research to determine why clusters are formed the way they are.
Alto Douro Wine Region, Portugal Positive attitude: 80% - Slightly higher education percentage - Higher monthly income - Have experienced higher income since enlising
Negative attitude: 20% - Lower education level - Lower monthly income - Have experienced lower income since enlisting
ADDITIONAL RESULTS • Wine growers’ perceptions are divided as some perceive an increase in revenue and an exclusive status for their product while other perceived a negative evolution. Lower education was a significant indicator for a negative evolution. • Business owners in the tourist-industry are heavily divided on their perception towards the enlisting, around 50% is highly positive and 50% is deeply dissatisfied.
This poster has made a selecton of two case studies to shed light on residents’ varying perceptions about living in a WHS. This is done by linking certain perceptions to social-economic indicators. By comparing the cases, an analysis of the results, methodologies and conclusions will be made. Lastly, recommendations for further research will be given. A short desciption of the two selected World Heritage Sites follows.
(1)THE OLD TOWN OF DUBROVNIK (OTD) dates back to the 7th century. It is known for its Baroque and Gothic buildings which lead to its enlisting on the World Heritage List (WHL) in 1979. The city has seen a rapid increase in tourism since its enlisting. Today, the town receives 1.2 million visitors annually and has 42.000 permanent inhabitants. (2)THE ALTO DOURO WINE REGION is located in the Northern part of Portugal. The mosaic cultural landscape was enlisted in 2001 for its traditional viniculture. The landscape is formed by distinct techniques for vineyards plantation. The area has a declining and aging population which makes them strategize for tourism and new residents.
Positive attitide: 38.5%: - Younger and Middle-Aged - Living in OTD for at least 10 years - Above average income
METHOD
ANALYSIS
OVERLAPPING RESULTS FROM THE 2 ARTICLES
CRITICAL REMARKS • Based on the apparent significance and inequality of income, the concept of class can offer clarity on why residents’ perceptions differ. Gentrification processes, dislocation and appropriation disproportionally disadvantages and exploit marginalized groups in society which heavily influences identity-formation and relation to the environment and others (as pointed out by Tunbridge and Ashworth 1996). It can be hypothesized that the variable of class is an overarching factor that implies inequality and calls for ethical questions relating to the field of Critical Heritage Studies such as ‘whose heritage is used’, ‘how is the heritage used’, ‘who benefits’ and ‘who pays the price’. This could lead to more inclusiveness, fairness and opportunities which accumulates in socio-economic sustainability of a heritage site. • Qualitative methods would greatly contribute to a deeper understanding of why certain clusters are formed and why they differ from others. This would offer answers to the questions posed in the remark above. Moreover, unexpected impacts and issues can be brought up by respondents because of less structured interview methods. • Sampling processes must be carefully considered to secure validity (i.e. the inclusion of entrepreneurs can misinform conclusion as entrepreneurs have potential dissonant interests from ‘pure’ residents).
CONCLUDING REMARKS
The resident community is significanly heterogenous in their perception towards enlisting their living environement as World Heritage. Income is a strong predictor for specific perceptions. Using the concept of class could offer more insight into perceptions towards WHS and unequal distribution of power and wealth from cultural heritage. Qualitative methods will contribute to a comprehensive and deeper understanding of the heterogeneity of the resident stakeholder group. WHS characteristics heavily determine the set of significant indicators to predict residents’ perceptions.
MINKE KATIE VAN NETTEN - MA CULTURAL HERITAGE AND SUSTAINABILITY - JUNE 2020