Living heritage in the historic urban landscape: a case study of the Grand Parade Market

dc.contributor.advisorRoux, Naomi
dc.contributor.authorWilson, Wendy M
dc.date.accessioned2021-12-10T07:32:27Z
dc.date.available2021-12-10T07:32:27Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.date.updated2021-12-09T11:12:30Z
dc.description.abstractThis study examines the long-established bi-weekly market held on Cape Town's Grand Parade to see if it constitutes living heritage. If it does, how is it connected with the urban landscape it inhabits, and how might it be acknowledged or safeguarded? Heritage practice in South Africa has long focused on the fabric of the historic built environment (not on the people using it or the uses to which it is put) with conservation methods tailored to that end. The importance of living heritage—or intangible cultural heritage—is increasingly accepted, particularly as a form of redress for the imbalance caused by the prioritisation of coloniser history. There is a growing sense of urgency, driven by those whose living heritage has been overlooked or ignored, to address this. In this study, I combine on-the-ground analysis of today's Wednesday/Saturday market drawn from interviews with traders, with a deep reading of various official and academic archives. This is interpreted through the most recent theoretical thinking regarding living heritage, together with the international charters, national laws and local policies that apply to the real world of Cape Town today. I determine that the market is, indeed, living heritage, and that it is important to recognise it is such. I argue that the heritage binary of intangible and tangible represents a false dichotomy, and that it is essential to consider heritage as a whole, with living heritage being indivisible from the urban landscape in which it exists. However, I identify the potential pitfalls that formal protection might bring to a living, dynamic system, and find that the significance values of tangible and living heritage require different actions to conserve and safeguard them. I show how, while the will to identify and acknowledge South Africa's living heritage has been expressed at the highest policy levels, the ensuing legislation, implementation policies and working practices of heritage practitioners are insufficient to deliver on this. I suggest that, to reflect this better in our management of heritage resources, a more trans-disciplinary approach is needed, one with processes and methodologies that accommodate diversity in the interpretation of cultural value and emphasise stakeholder involvement.
dc.identifier.apacitationWilson, W. M. (2020). <i>Living heritage in the historic urban landscape: a case study of the Grand Parade Market</i>. (). ,Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment ,School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/35441en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationWilson, Wendy M. <i>"Living heritage in the historic urban landscape: a case study of the Grand Parade Market."</i> ., ,Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment ,School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/35441en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationWilson, W.M. 2020. Living heritage in the historic urban landscape: a case study of the Grand Parade Market. . ,Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment ,School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/35441en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Master Thesis AU - Wilson, Wendy M AB - This study examines the long-established bi-weekly market held on Cape Town's Grand Parade to see if it constitutes living heritage. If it does, how is it connected with the urban landscape it inhabits, and how might it be acknowledged or safeguarded? Heritage practice in South Africa has long focused on the fabric of the historic built environment (not on the people using it or the uses to which it is put) with conservation methods tailored to that end. The importance of living heritage—or intangible cultural heritage—is increasingly accepted, particularly as a form of redress for the imbalance caused by the prioritisation of coloniser history. There is a growing sense of urgency, driven by those whose living heritage has been overlooked or ignored, to address this. In this study, I combine on-the-ground analysis of today's Wednesday/Saturday market drawn from interviews with traders, with a deep reading of various official and academic archives. This is interpreted through the most recent theoretical thinking regarding living heritage, together with the international charters, national laws and local policies that apply to the real world of Cape Town today. I determine that the market is, indeed, living heritage, and that it is important to recognise it is such. I argue that the heritage binary of intangible and tangible represents a false dichotomy, and that it is essential to consider heritage as a whole, with living heritage being indivisible from the urban landscape in which it exists. However, I identify the potential pitfalls that formal protection might bring to a living, dynamic system, and find that the significance values of tangible and living heritage require different actions to conserve and safeguard them. I show how, while the will to identify and acknowledge South Africa's living heritage has been expressed at the highest policy levels, the ensuing legislation, implementation policies and working practices of heritage practitioners are insufficient to deliver on this. I suggest that, to reflect this better in our management of heritage resources, a more trans-disciplinary approach is needed, one with processes and methodologies that accommodate diversity in the interpretation of cultural value and emphasise stakeholder involvement. DA - 2020_ DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Intangible Cultural Heritage KW - Living Heritage KW - Identity KW - Place KW - Traditional Practice KW - Values KW - Community LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2020 T1 - Living heritage in the historic urban landscape: a case study of the Grand Parade Market TI - Living heritage in the historic urban landscape: a case study of the Grand Parade Market UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/35441 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/35441
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationWilson WM. Living heritage in the historic urban landscape: a case study of the Grand Parade Market. []. ,Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment ,School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics, 2020 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/35441en_ZA
dc.language.rfc3066eng
dc.publisher.departmentSchool of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Engineering and the Built Environment
dc.subjectIntangible Cultural Heritage
dc.subjectLiving Heritage
dc.subjectIdentity
dc.subjectPlace
dc.subjectTraditional Practice
dc.subjectValues
dc.subjectCommunity
dc.titleLiving heritage in the historic urban landscape: a case study of the Grand Parade Market
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationlevelMaster of Philosophy
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