Cultural heritage entanglements: festivals as integrative sites for sustainable urban development

Perry, B., Ager, L., & Sitas, R. (2019). Cultural heritage entanglements: festivals as integrative sites for sustainable urban development. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 1–16. doi:10.1080/13527258.2019.1578987

Platform
Cape Town Sheffield-Manchester
Publication type
Scientific article (peer-reviewed)
Projects
Cultural Heritage and Just Cities
DOI Title
Cultural heritage entanglements: festivals as integrative sites for sustainable urban development
Journal
International Journal of Heritage Studies
ISSN/ISBN
1352-7258 1470-3610
DOI
10.1080/13527258.2019.1578987
Author(s)
Beth Perry L. Ager R. Sitas
Published year
Subject
Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management Geography, Planning and Development Museology Cultural Studies History Conservation
Tags
cultural heritage sustainable urban development festivals urban justice Sustainable Development Goals

 

Abstract

Whilst the importance of cultural heritage in sustainable urban development has been increasingly recognised in policy frameworks at multiple levels, there remains a lack of understanding about how global and international goals land in different places. This paper specifically addresses this question through a study of 18 festivals across the Global North and South. We argue that festivals are integrative sites in which tangible and intangible heritage properties are entangled: bi-directional, co-dependent and non-linear. Given the critical role in linking urban contexts and histories with immaterial experience and meaning in the city, we argue that festivals can illuminate wider concerns. Specifically, this means seeing festivals as part of the ‘new heritage paradigm’ and assessing their contribution to processes of just urban transformations.

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