Welcome to the department’s Higher Seminar with Susanne Fredholm, Malin Weijmer and Jon Williamsson.
Policy initiatives have increasingly highlighted cultural heritage as a valuable resource for promoting sustainable development and building resilient societies (European Council 2005, Unesco 2022). Despite this recognition, the relationship between heritage and the circular economy remains relatively underdeveloped. Currently, the application of the circular economy concept to heritage management primarily focuses on material conservation, emphasizing the reuse, recycling, repair, and maintenance of materials, as well as adaptive reuse, which involves repurposing heritage structures for contemporary functions.
Departing from the premise that cultural heritage management promotes the value of existing resources, our objective is to expand the understanding of circularity within this context. Specifically, we aim to encompass the circularity associated with local engagement and meaning making, which drive and sustain heritage processes.
Our ongoing research explores the intersections between circular economy theory and critical heritage studies. Through a combination of policy and literature reviews and case studies, we aim to unravel the interconnections between circularity (in terms of recycling and reuse) and the care for heritage. Our preliminary findings suggest that circularity and heritage approaches converge, yet there is room for further refinement. The intersection revolves around the idea of resource-driven management, based on a sense of ownership, sociocultural perspectives, and community engagement.
By applying circular economy principles to heritage management, we believe that we can further articulate and align these principles with the objectives of integrated conservation, which seeks to minimize environmental impacts while maximizing social benefits. To achieve this, we propose the development of a comprehensive framework that merges circularity and heritage approaches, ultimately supporting sustainable practices in heritage management.