How should we position research with regard to future heritage?

This article goes back over the findings of a research programme bearing on the phenomenon of Loire landscapes gaining heritage status. The authors Hervé Davodeau and Régis Barraud examine the position of researchers when it comes to heritage that is still "dormant", but which they expect to emerge any time.

A contextualisation of navigational spurs in the river's recent history yields insight into the shaping of this heritage. The authors also present the findings of a survey conducted among residents to demonstrate their unfamiliarity with this history, by highlighting the paradoxes of their perceptions of these sites with the ultimate view of gathering clues to formulate the hypothesis of the forthcoming emergence of their heritage value. In anticipation of a future controversy, H. Davodeau and R. Barraud defend a "landscape-oriented" research stance on heritage and participation, which is likely to spark discussion on the timeframes at work in the restoration policy of the River Loire.  

Développement durable et territoires [Online], Vol. 9, no. 2 | June 2018, uploaded on 15 June 2018.  

On the web:

https://journals.openedition.org/developpementdurable/12277