Overview
Ethnographic fieldwork carried out simultaneously, over an 18-month period, by locally based teams in selected neighbourhoods of 13 cities, was subjected to comparative analysis using a matrix of themes which subsequently formed the architecture of an on-line multi-media database. The fieldwork sites, comprising conflict and post-conflict cities, port cities, and cities with a dominant tourism economy, presented a range of issues revolving around the loss of significant cultural presences, the incorporation of new permanent, semi-permanent and transient populations, and the reconfiguration and remodelling of urban space, driven by global branding strategies and investment flows.
Working with a range of stakeholder groups, the project investigated the ways in which these diverse populations anchor themselves in neighbourhoods; the significance of history, memory, and a sense of place in this process; the role of ‘heritage’ in governance and civil society; and the principles of a ‘critical’ heritage practice for strengthening civil society and sustainable livelihoods.