Conditional values of urban heritage: context and scale

The purpose of this paper is to show the gap between the authorised heritage discourse (AHD) as practised within Norwegian heritage management and the recommendations forwarded by UNESCO for the managing of the historic urban landscape (HUL), indicating that a shift is necessary to manage dynamic urban change.

A current development initiative in Oslo is used to show how heritage values can be differentiated by a spatial scale to prioritise between heritage goods at a practical level and as an attempt to balance financial interests and the values identified by heritage criteria.

The scaling of heritage assets is useful for distinguishing between different levels or types of value (cultural/economic, private/social/public) but is not sufficient for obtaining the aims forwarded by UNESCO within an AHD that does not support development of HULs. A contextual understanding of heritage value must be obtained to make heritage a vital resource in the contemporary urban context.

A broader understanding of what constitutes the urban environment, including economic viability, seems mandatory to make the current Norwegian practice of heritage management more adaptive to the dynamic nature of living cities and the ambitions reflected in the recommendations from UNESCO.

Integrating development potential as a criterion adds a dynamic aspect to the valuation of heritage not sufficiently present in the current practice and literature.