Lucy Lannigan, MSc

Dissertation Project

"Co-developing Models for Sustainable Community Heritage Development"

This PhD project aims to co-develop models for community heritage engagements, taking two communities along the River Clyde, Glasgow, namely New Lanark and Greenock, as examples. Exploring several contrasting meanings of ‘community’, the usefulness of the concept will be assessed in the context of sustainable community heritage in a complex, interconnected world. Engaging critically with approaches to heritage, regeneration and tourism, the research will use a multi-disciplinary human ecology perspective and conduct participatory research to generate new knowledge on potential heritage futures for the River Clyde catchment, including the relationship with tourists to the area.

The project will contribute to scholarly debates around the role of heritage in community regeneration and how sustainable heritage can help address issues of community cohesion in post-industrial areas. Framed by debates within heritage studies, the research will attempt to critically assess people’s connection to place, identity, material culture and ownership (Cheape, Garden, and McLean, 2009) in relation to the case-study communities, with both a current and historical context. Coupled with this, the project will attempt to provide material for policy makers in heritage and tourism as they plan and evaluate future work to ensure these communities are central to sustainable, strategic thinking.

Supervisors: Professor Ulrich Kockel, Heriot-Watt University;
Dr. Kerstin Pfeiffer, Heriot-Watt University