Gill Chitty

Public participation and local community involvement have taken centre stage in heritage practice in recent decades. In contrast with this established position in wider heritage work, public engagement with conservation practice is less well developed. The focus here is on conservation as the practical care of material cultural heritage, with all its associated significance for local people. How can we be more successful in building capacity for local ownership and leadership of heritage conservation projects, as well as improving participative involvement in decisions and in practice? This book presents current research and practice in community-led conservation. It illustrates that outcomes of locally-led, active participation show demonstrable social, educational and personal benefits for participants. Bringing together UK and international case studies, the book combines analysis of theoretical and applied approaches, exploring the lived experiences of conservation projects in and with different communities. Responding to the need for deeper understanding of the outcomes of heritage conservation, it examines the engagement of local people and communities beyond the expert and specialist domain. Highlighting the advances in this important aspect of contemporary heritage practice, this book is a key resource for practitioners in heritage studies, conservation and heritage management. It is also relevant for the practising professional, student or university researcher in an emerging field that overarches professional and academic practice.

Engagement, participation and capacity building

Heritage, Conservation and Communities

David Baker

Managing Historic Sites and Buildings looks at the choices and the tensions that exist in conservation and interpretation of the heritage. Preservation and presentation are central activities, arguably means and ends in the conservation of the historic environment. But are they self-reinforcing or do they work against each other? In a series of essays which span form prehistoric sacred site to Second World war military remains, from medieval monastery to 1970s housing estate, we look at contemporary concerns and debates about the way the past is shaped, physically and metaphorically , by these two aspects of heritage management. Starting from the position that the fundamental purpose of the whole process is to communicate understanding about the human past, these essays examine how far the ideologies, strategies, tactics and techniques of preservation and presentation are mutually supportive. the success of integrated approaches that are inclusive of social, economic and green environmental concerns is understood, but the value of developing truly sustainable management for individual historic places is only just becoming evident. At the heart of such an approach lies a crucial relationship between the activity of preserving historic places and of promoting understanding of their significance.

Gill Chitty

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