VIRTUAL ISTANBUL HERITAGE(S)

Abstract

In the city of Beijing, hutongs are an integral part of the city’s cultural history, also as a typical examples of historical informal settlement alleys, embodying the urban life of ordinary people, characterized by a unique local atmosphere. During the process of hutong heritagization, several issues have arisen from top-down policies and practices, from the early demolition and recent commercial gentrification, in particular social exclusion and inactive resident participation. However, this top-down perspective is not the only way; bottom-up perspectives are offered by non-state initiatives in this process, can be a potential way to connect with heritage. These non-state initiatives include artists, local residents, cultural practitioners, intangible heritage inheritors, and entrepreneurs, etc. This study explores which practices non-state initiatives implement, what effects these practices have in social relations, and how they affect people’ participation. This study conducted fieldwork and interviews with many initiatives, using a case study method to address the research questions and to offer valid demonstrations that acknowledge the effects of art, culture and creative practice in engaging with heritage. The results show that the efforts of non-state initiatives perform remarkably well in improving social relations and have a noticeable effect on encouraging active participation.