Urban Heritage as Experiential Value

What Does Everyday Experience Tell Us about Urban Residents' Relationship to Heritage?

Authors

• Piia Pentti Turun yliopisto https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1624-0111

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30666/elore.142091

Keywords:

urban ethnology, urban space, urban environment, experiential knowledge, valuation, urban heritage

Abstract

In my article, I examine the ways in which residents evaluate their urban heritage. I focus specifically on experiential value, which I analyse in conjunction with social value and authorised heritage discourse. I enquire into the everyday methods of valuation, mediated through experiential value, to understand residents' relationship with urban heritage and how considering experiential value shapes our comprehension of urban heritage. I employ the city of Naantali as a case study. The empirical data of the article comprise 26 themed texts and three go-along driftings. I demonstrate how viewing urban heritage through the lens of experiential value illuminates the tensions and conflicts inherent in urban heritage. As an individual's connection to place is inherently embodied, I refine the concept of experiential value to better accommodate the embodied nature of urban heritage. This analysis enhances our understanding of urban heritage and uncovers subtleties that the prevalent, authorised discourse on heritage in the Naantali community does not yet acknowledge.