Heritage North, Durham University – 09 July 2013

Heritage-led regeneration initiatives have been a defining feature of the last 25 years across the North of England and – in common with the digital, though in a more planned and institutionally-managed way – represents an attempt to fuse economic development and cultural identity. Yet the relationship between remembering, understanding and marketing the past and the development of sustainability in the region is still open for question. The workshop would tease open questions of the implications of the double logic of heritage: bringing in new businesses and tourists and supporting local identity and place shaping. The workshop will do this by asking: What are the tensions of, and opportunities for, developing heritage co-produced with local communities and attracting tourists? What are the effects – positive and unintended – of the heritage economy in the North? How does using ‘heritage’ for regeneration affect the identities of the communities it claims to present? How might a sustainable heritage economy be developed in the North and beyond?