Votre ressource mondiale sur le patrimoine
EN
ES
FR
Réf.
41838
Type
conference item
Titre
Valuing community identity within federal preservation policy
Langues
English
Auteurs
Binder, Regina / Speicher, Rita
Date
2003
Pages
6 p.
Titre de conférence
14th ICOMOS General Assembly and International Symposium: ‘Place, memory, meaning: preserving intangible values in monuments and sites’
Lieu de conférence
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Date de conférence
27 – 31 oct 2003
Mots-clés
cultural identity / intangible heritage / conservation policy / legislation
Résumé en anglais
Through telling stories repeatedly, a communityorganizes its myths into oral and iconic memory, distinct
from written history. This process stamps the soul of acommunity with an indelible and miraculous sense of self,
for which traditional preservation has no tools ofrecognition or measurement. Hence, what is intangible is
felt, shared and retained in the dailiness of oral fabric,giving the iconic memory of physical form as valued a
place in the community as the built environment.Located within the Cape Cod National Seashore along a
stretch of outer beach at the easternmost tip of the UnitedStates, 17 of the original 40 dune shacks still give shelter
in a harsh and mutable landscape. Built of salvagedmaterials by local residents for use when patrolling the
outer shores for ships in distress, the dune shacks laterattracted artists and writers drawn by the seclusion and
Mediterranean-like light.In 1959, under new federal ownership, shack owners
received life tenancy or 25-year leases which expired in1984. As the Park Service prioritizes protection of natural
over cultural resources, the shacks found strongadvocates in the residents of Provincetown who proposed
a National Register District to protect the remainingstructures. Association with important historical person,
one of three eligibility criteria allowed by the NPS,enabled protection but by criteria largely irrelevant to the
significance of the shacks themselves. While valid formeasuring historic significance, these criteria are
insufficient for measuring intangible value.No language or methodology for valuing the intangible
exists, yet sense and soul of place have resonant definitionin our community experience. This paper discusses how
intangible value may be acknowledged and measured todevelop public policy for the protection of
iconicresources.
from written history. This process stamps the soul of acommunity with an indelible and miraculous sense of self,
for which traditional preservation has no tools ofrecognition or measurement. Hence, what is intangible is
felt, shared and retained in the dailiness of oral fabric,giving the iconic memory of physical form as valued a
place in the community as the built environment.Located within the Cape Cod National Seashore along a
stretch of outer beach at the easternmost tip of the UnitedStates, 17 of the original 40 dune shacks still give shelter
in a harsh and mutable landscape. Built of salvagedmaterials by local residents for use when patrolling the
outer shores for ships in distress, the dune shacks laterattracted artists and writers drawn by the seclusion and
Mediterranean-like light.In 1959, under new federal ownership, shack owners
received life tenancy or 25-year leases which expired in1984. As the Park Service prioritizes protection of natural
over cultural resources, the shacks found strongadvocates in the residents of Provincetown who proposed
a National Register District to protect the remainingstructures. Association with important historical person,
one of three eligibility criteria allowed by the NPS,enabled protection but by criteria largely irrelevant to the
significance of the shacks themselves. While valid formeasuring historic significance, these criteria are
insufficient for measuring intangible value.No language or methodology for valuing the intangible
exists, yet sense and soul of place have resonant definitionin our community experience. This paper discusses how
intangible value may be acknowledged and measured todevelop public policy for the protection of
iconicresources.
Document joint
A3-6_-_Binder_et_Speicher.pdfLicence
Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (BY-NC-ND)
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