Ameland, a Dutch Wadden Sea island, is blessed with many historical buildings, such as captains’ houses, which make up picturesque townscapes. Together with the attractions of sandy beaches, these quaint villages attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Ameland also has the ambitious goal to become self-sufficient in renewable energy. Our (practical) aim is to support local stakeholders with the design of energy transition strategies that take account of heritage values.Theoretically, we rely on a layered framework, where meanings and values of individual buildings, townscapes, landscapes, local historical narratives, as well as economic and social values can find a place. In our project, we encountered value conflicts and will discuss how these conflicts can be resolved. In this respect, we refer to the concept of a value hierarchy.We investigate heritage values held by inhabitants of Ameland. What aspects of their built environment do they value in particular? How are specific building types, historical townscapes and landscapes evaluated? What impact of energy measures and scenarios do they find acceptable? To this end, we developed an online questionnaire, which was distributed by local stakeholders. We found a range of heritage and sustainability values held by the inhabitants and stakeholders of Ameland. In the discussion section we will return to the conflicting values in the Ameland case. We find that the presence of heritage values leads to the specification of conditions for the application of energy measures; these should be as invisible as possible. Thus, to combine the values of heritage and sustainability, setting norms and requirements for the implementation of new energy measures is advisable.
Valuation of heritage buildings is usually performed by architectural-historical experts, who use a typology of heritage values based on conservation philosophy. Increasingly, social and spirituality values are included in heritage assessment frameworks.What happens to valuation systems when external events influence the chances of survival of heritage buildings, such as earthquakes induced by gas extraction in the Netherlands? While the mining company uses a narrow economic perspective on value, the public fears for loss of character of their historic towns. New safety regulations constitute a new and even stronger threat to heritage buildings. Recently, a heritage assessment framework was published, to help with value assessments in the affected region. In this paper, we compare experts’ and laypersons’ values by analyzing the new assessment framework as well as public documents. We conclude that heritage value assessments should incorporate social values, including memories and symbolic meanings, to create a balanced valuation system.
