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Why is this theme important to small towns? |
Built heritage is part of the residents’ sense of place. Even though it is often taken for granted by the citizens, it is in the subconscious of people living there and provides daily sense of belonging and security. The residents quickly notice any major change in their built environment.
Built heritage objects are tangible manifestations of town’s identity and a physical expression of the town’s people’s cultural heritage (see ’Identity & Culture’ component) . They provide a link to the history and culture of the nation and particular town. Very often the built heritage provides a suitable background, or home, for the cultural life of a town. Usually historic buildings are located in central parts of a town and, combined with appropriate services, they help make the centre an attractive area to visit by residents and tourists.
Architectural identity or sense of the place is very often stronger and more cohesive in small towns than in big cities. In this aspect, small towns have the big advantage that the objects of built heritage are very distinctive and can easily be associated with the place. Small towns can make great benefit of this in their marketing and promotion strategy (see ‘Marketing & Promotion’ component) and tourism strategy (see ‘Tourism’ component).
Well preserved built heritage areas make a town more pleasant, not only to residents, but also for attracting tourists to the town – bringing the town tangible profits (see ‘Jobs and Employment’ component). To achieve this, the built heritage cannot be treated as a museum showpiece; it has to be made accessible and useful to people in order to earn its upkeep. Preservation and maintenance of the built heritage, unless it is a nationally or internationally recognised monument, is relatively more difficult for small towns. Additionally, in some cases small towns may lack the qualified staff to deal with these issues.
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