Hari Srinivas
Heritage Listings are documentation of items that can have cultural or historical value. There are a number of such lists, created both by national governments, agencies or private organizations. Many countries have formalized systems for heritage listings - both governmental and non-governmental.
Why heritage listings? Besides a clear way of documenting items for archaeological, cultural or historical purposes, it also helps in raising awareness and appreciate the heritage value of such places.
They also enable planners, researchers and community groups to take these values into account in their decisions. This means that places have a better chance of being conserved.
Heritage Listings cover a range of issues including the place's significance, regulation and management.
What is usually covered in a listing? Taking a specific example of heritage buildings, a typical listing will cover the building's heritage values from an architectural perspective, as well as broader cultural fabric to which it belongs. This is the case with most items that are included in heritage lists - (1) criteria related specifically to the item (enabling comparition to other similar items), and (2) its relation to the broader cultural fabric (enabling understanding its contribution to heritage value).
Here, an 'item' can refer to anything with heritage value - a building, a street facade, art, household goods, dress or intangible items such as music, dance etc.
Some of the questions typically asked include:
- What is the age of the item? When was it prepared?
- What techniques and technologies went into its preparation? What is its uniqueness?
- Does the item fit into a particular style or period design pattern?
- Is the item's creator - an artist or designer - historically important?
- Are there similar items created? Is it a rare example of its kind?
- Does the item belong to a particular region or country?
- How well is the item preserved? What is its current status (in terms of preservation/deterioration)?
Identifying and listing items of heritage significance are the first steps in protecting and managing those places and objects that we as a community want to keep. Listing our special places on statutory heritage registers provides a legal framework for managing the approval of major changes so that heritage significance is retained and not diminished.
