We’ve seen lots lately about Liverpool being stripped of its World Heritage Status by UNESCO. While the agency’s decision itself wasn’t a surprise, what was surprising (and disappointing) is that their prior warnings weren’t heeded by the city.
Liverpool has been on the heritage body’s ‘in danger’ list since 2012 and – from a broad read of the papers – it looks like many of the city’s core issues come down to local politics. Could it also be an example of a planning system which doesn’t have the tools to assess, uphold and promote good design? Regardless of the reasons behind the decision, much of the public response on social media is neither surprise nor disappointment, but in fact indifference. With many people seeing homes and jobs as more important than the city’s World Heritage Status, this led me to wonder: what do we really value?
No one wants to live in a museum piece, nor in modern historic fakery. But does heritage play enough of a part in our cities? Do we generally value our heritage enough? If nothing else, UNESCO’s decision serves as a stark warning for the other 50-something sites on the ‘in danger’ list. Those with authority in these places should probably be assessing what they really value, too.
- Kevin Balch, Project Design Director