Book Review. Manero Miguel, Fernando and García Cuesta, José Luis (Coordinadores) (2016) Patrimonio cultural y desarrollo territorial. Cultural heritage and territorial development. DAG, 65/1185-203

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Book Review. Manero Miguel, Fernando and García Cuesta, José Luis (Coordinadores) (2016) Patrimonio cultural y desarrollo territorial. Cultural heritage and territorial development. DAG, 65/1185-203

Abstract:

Those who lose their origins lose their identity! Cultural heritage incorporates many elements, but its material and immaterial assets are rooted in history, cultivated in tradition and embody a shared memory, as Manero Miguel and García Cuesta point out in the introduction of the book. Cultural heritage assets also bring identity to a territory and society. In the twenty-first century, differentiation represents an important asset, hence heritage’s relevance is revealed when territories become differentiated owing to their heritage assets in this globalized world. Differentiation, moreover, is the nature of territorial competitiveness. The main goal of this book is to vindicate the role of the cultural landscape as a motor for sustainable development and as a factor behind territorial competitiveness. This book is important in many ways. Besides its obvious roles in research and policymaking, in such a period of political turmoil even world heritage has become a bargaining chip, as in the case of negotiations between the Trump administration in the United States of America and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In October 2017, the Trump administration declared that the USA would withdraw from UNESCO, claiming that the latter’s member nations have an anti-Israel bias. Thus, in the political complexity of nonsenses, cultural heritage must be vindicated because it has many functions: it is an incentive to preserve historic monuments, to develop new economic activities (and therefore create jobs and revenue), and to inculcate pride and identity in cultural heritage amongst inhabitants.

Publisher's Version

Last updated on 03/14/2022