VIRTUAL: Prague Heritages
Abstract
The lack of understanding between the economic benefits and social value of the built heritage is one of the leading causes of why several culturally significant places remain threatened by unsympathetic redevelopment or complete demolition. As a part of the heritage significance, the social value nurtures slowly over time, often making it unnoticed in the economic-driven conservation sector. Nevertheless, this value plays a vital role in shaping the identity of a nation and its people. This paper proposes a survey-based quantitative methodology to develop a comprehensive assessment model using the contingent valuation method (CVM) to understand the built heritage’s social value better. The methodology selected conceptual framework and questionnaire surveys as practical approaches to the research development and is applied to the People’s Park Complex (built in the early 1970s) in the Chinatown area of Singapore. The conceptual framework is used to establish the indicators and hypotheses for evaluating social value to develop a comprehensive assessment model containing various interconnected elements to achieve maximum economic benefits while sustaining the place’s social value.
Qin Junjie is pursuing her MA in Architectural Conservation at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Before joining NUS, she worked as a core planner and project leader in southern China. During this period, she led and delivered several projects of various scales, including master plans and policymaking for the preservation and regeneration of cities and provinces and smaller projects focusing on managing historic buildings and built landscapes. Her research interests include data-driven urban conservation and regeneration, preservation economics, and heritage management.
Nikhil Joshi is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Architecture at the National University of Singapore. Educated in India, UK and Singapore, he is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, UK, and recipient of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings – Lethaby Scholarship, UK. Nikhil has been an active speaker at various conferences worldwide and has several publications to his name. His prominent recent publications include Mahabodhi Temple at Bodhgaya: Constructing sacred placeness, deconstructing the ‘great case’ of 1895 (2019) and Managing change: Urban heritage and community development in historic Asian cities (2018, edited).