EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Impacts of cultural heritage and identity

Impacts of cultural heritage and identity – ESPON Project 1.3.3

Introduction

The “Impacts of cultural heritage and identity” project has developed a set of policy recommendations supporting a more efficient and sustainable use of cultural resources. The project also addresses protection, planning and management policies and actions.

Description

The project presents main spatial patterns of cultural heritage and identity in Europe. It also proposes a classification of regions based on their cultural components, and their cultural “orientation” in the provision and fruition of cultural elements (e.g. conservation / production / diffusion of culture).

The project also investigates spatial effects of culture on territorial development, by crossing some of the basic cultural indicators with other ESPON territorial indicators, for example accessibility and other regional performance indicators.

Finally, a wide range of case studies on management practices and territorial effects of cultural heritage at a local level are presented.

Background information

The European regions find themselves in a moment of profound change. Firstly, they are trying to adapt to the challenges that are inherent to the global, post-industrial economy. Secondly, the enlargement of the European Union has triggered complex Europe-wide processes of social, economic and territorial reorganisation. The role of cultural and heritage and identity in these processes may be a crucial one.

Methodology

The concept of cultural heritage and identity includes a multitude of tangible as well as intangible components. The project focused mainly on tangible components, such as cultural landscapes, sites, monuments, cultural facilities. Nevertheless, more intangible components, such as events, identity, cultural jobs, intellectual productions are discussed as well. They are all considered as key assets for territorial development.

EU involvement

The project was launched in the framework of the European Spatial Planning Observatory Network (the ESPON programme) which is financed by the EU Community Initiative INTERREG IIIB.

Conclusions

The project has brought forward a wide array of in-depth conclusions and recommendations. Those topical conclusions can be found in the report on the ESPON website.

The general conclusions are as follows:

Cultural and heritage and identity (CHI) are assets that place Europe in pole position with respect to the rest of the world, offering all European regions unique social and economic development opportunities. CHI is an important input for the creative industry and the tourist industry, two of the most important and dynamic sectors of the post-industrial economy.
Cultural assets are typical place products that can not be separated or moved from the regions they are located in.
Many cultural assets are not only point of reference for the local population, but for Europeans as such.
In a Europe that is simultaneously pursuing cohesion and competitiveness, CHI may very well be a natural bridge between those two sometimes conflicting objectives. CHI can be both the basic input for a region’s competitiveness and the glue that keeps society together.

Contact info

Università Ca´Foscari, Department of Economics (CAF)
Jan van der Borg, tel. +39 0412349135

Publication date

01/05/2006

Researcher

ESPON Transnational Project Group on Impacts of cultural heritage and identity

Links

Read the report on the ESPON website The ESPON Programme Università Ca´Foscari, Department of Economics (CAF)

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy > Urban environment

Keywords

Cultural heritage