Whose Heritage Matters? Mapping, Making and Mobilising Heritage Values for Sustainable Livelihoods in Cape Town and Kisumu

Cape Town and Kisumu are two secondary African cities with high levels of poverty, unemployment and inequality. There is much interest in developing sustainable approaches to harnessing tangible and intangible heritage to address these challenges. However, cultural heritage is a value-laden concept, particularly in the context of colonial histories and urban futures. Whose heritage matters? How can we negotiate competing and plural values? How can cultural heritage be mobilised to support sustainable livelihoods?

The project aims to understand how tangible and intangible cultural heritage values can be mobilised to support policy and practice interventions for sustainable livelihoods in Cape Town and Kisumu. The research team seeks to critically explore what international targets and agendas for cultural heritage and sustainable development mean in the context of real urban challenges, and how they might be implemented and developed.