Speaker
Description
The idea that heritage is not solely composed of monumental sites or elements recognized by elites, nor merely an object or property defined through top-down policies and plans, has long been contested. Since the late 1960s, the rise of social movements worldwide has sparked a 'wind of change' that has profoundly influenced scholars and practitioners across multiple disciplines. This growing struggle for social justice has led to critical re-evaluations within museum and heritage practices (de Varine, 2002).
In urban planning, these shifts are reflected in the emergence of progressive planning, which foregrounds storytelling as a central concern for planners (Sandercock, 1998). Similar trends can be observed in environmental history and anthropology, where scholars have increasingly interrogated how the past is narrated and interpreted, by whom, for whom, and through what power dynamics.
Building on the premise that heritage extends beyond the 'authorized discourse' (Smith, 2006) and instead constitutes an 'insurgent process' (Novoa, 2018), our contribution examines this process across multiple disciplinary fields, intersecting urban planning with museology, environmental history, and anthropology. In doing so, we not only challenge conventional disciplinary boundaries but also question the divide between academic interpretations of heritage and the lived experiences of people—and other living beings—whose everyday struggles are shaped by their relationship to heritage in its many forms. This perspective aligns with what we call an 'undisciplined approach' (Armiero et al., 2019), which seeks to break down rigid academic frameworks.
With these premises, our contribution outlines the purpose and preliminary findings of the transnational research project WRENCH – Whispers of Time: Heritage as Narratives of Climate Change, supported by the Belmont Forum. The WRENCH project explores the concept of living heritage, encompassing the legacies embedded in buildings, public spaces, landscapes, and the narratives constructed around them. We intentionally use the term living heritage, rather than lived heritage, to emphasize its processual nature: a relational, yet contested, process of making, unmaking, and becoming.
We argue that storytelling is as integral to heritage as any physical space, positioning heritage both as something vulnerable and as a medium through which crises are framed. Heritage is not only lost through decay, abandonment, or destruction but also when it falls silent—when it is unable to tell its story or when it perpetuates narratives that obscure deeper risks and injustices. In our research, we employ diverse methodological tools drawn from our varied disciplinary backgrounds, including a decolonized approach to storytelling aimed at advancing epistemic justice in planning (Ortiz, 2022).
This contribution will provide insights into our methodological approach while offering reflections on the relational potential embedded in the concept of living heritage, both within and beyond academia.
References
Armiero, M., Barca, S., Velicu, I. (2019). Undisciplining political ecology: A minifesto. Undisciplined Environments, 1(10)
De Varine, H. (2002). Les racines du futur: le patrimoine au service du développement local, AbeBooks
Novoa, M. (2018). Insurgency, heritage and the working class: the case of the Theatre of Union Nº6 of the Coal Miners of Lota, Chile. IJHS, 24(4), 354-373
Ortiz, C. (2023). Storytelling otherwise: Decolonising storytelling in planning. Planning Theory, 22(2), 177-200.
Sandercock, L. (Ed.). (1998). Making the invisible visible: A multicultural planning history. Univ of California Press
Smith, Laurajane (2006). Uses of Heritage. Routledge.
| Keywords | storytelling, oral history, community-based planning, trans-disciplinary research, environmental humanities |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
