Heritage and Economics

Almost since the beginning of the heritage conservation movement, there has been a resistance by activists and scholars to discussing heritage in the context of economics. Somehow it was seen as diminishing the importance of cultural heritage to have it tainted with quantification as Euros, Dollars or Yen.

Fortunately, in my mind, that is changing. It isn't that the economic value of heritage resources is the only value, or even the most important one. But considering the economics should be a perspective that is welcomed rather than avoided by those committed to conserve the best of the built environment.

On the European front, leading the way in this regard is the Nordic Network on the Economics of the Built Heritage. The Network is coordinated by the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies at the Technical University of Helsinki.

Over the last few years they have held symposia, established a website with links to heritage economics studies and papers, and have released at least one scholarly publication.

Last week they issued their latest work, Economics and Built Heritage - Toward New European Initiatives.. This is a collection of papers ably edited by Mikko Malkki, Raine Mantysalo and my friend Kaisa Schmidt-Thome.

While the book was released in hard copy at a meeting of European Culture Ministers, it is also available in pdf form on line.

The range of subjects is wide so anyone with the least interest in the built heritage/economics connection should find both intellectual stimulation and perhaps methodological tools.

Much of what has been available, frankly, has been of such an esoteric nature that it's utility was limited. This is not the case with the papers presented here. They do lay the foundations for new European initiatives.