Things Don’t Really Exist Until You Give Them A Name

Things Don’t Really Exist Until You Give Them A Name

Things don’t really exist until you give them a name traces contemporary urban heritage discourses and practices across the globe. From Dar es Salaam to Berlin, via Istanbul, Flint and Kolkata, a wide range of voices connects to heritage debates. Artists, curators, and activists as well as historians, architects, planners and urban researchers address the urban heritage conundrum: Although heritage is claimed to have the power to achieve social cohesion and galvanise urban communities, it is intrinsically contested and divisive. Through fresh perspectives, concepts, methods and tools rather than a belief in absolute aesthetic and material values, this book argues for a more citizen-centred and rights-based approach to heritage which could help to make cities more just and inclusive.