A tailored framework for heritage and values identification in historic Alexandria: Cultural mapping through Historic Urban Landscape conceptualisation

Purpose: Heritage identification has been a challenging process in terms of capturing the holistic significance of a place, including its tangible, intangible and sociocultural dimensions. This problem is more evident in cities that face challenges of densification, housing demand and economically driven developments. The city of Alexandria in Egypt demonstrates an exemplary case in which societal and intangible values have not been adequately addressed as part of a broader marginalisation of heritage by societal, economic and political challenges. Acknowledging that participatory cultural mapping can inform heritage decision-making and encourage communities to create and re-create legacy through regenerative processes, this research investigates how to employ cultural mapping methodology in valuing local heritage in Alexandria.

Design/methodology/approach: Based on ‘Historic Urban Landscape’ theorisation and a multi-method qualitative approach (i.e., desk review, literature analysis and semi-structured interviews), the article aims to build a tailored framework, utilising community-based mapping techniques for heritage identification in historic Alexandria. At later stages of this research, a framework is developed to inform the design of a localised toolkit for recognising social values.

Originality: The developed framework fills the gaps in the formal valuation process by 1) emphasising intangible values and the statement of significance as a critical step and negotiation milestone, 2) demonstrating inclusivity in terms of stakeholders’ perceptions and values, and 3) providing a complementary valuation approach that addresses the multiplicity of values at different scales.

Findings: This work is a beneficial starting point to inform and guide further mapping exercises that aim to elicit values from the local community and understand how residents value their heritage landscapes beyond the conventional approach. The study addresses critical challenges in the local context by utilising the Cultural Mapping methodology in conjunction with the Historic Urban Landscape lens; It frees heritage academic and public discourse from the prevalent perception concerned only with heritage's monumental dimensions.