Cultural heritage evaluation: The Huerta de Valencia as a territorial resource

Abstract

The concept of cultural heritage has evolved throughout history through a complex process of attribution of values. Nowadays, it is defined as the inheritance of a community, with a wide diversity of assets that speak about our identity. The identification and evaluation of these elements and expressions are fundamental actions for their management and restitution. This article develops and applies a methodology of evaluation of the cultural heritage in 257 assets of the Huerta de Valencia. It is a quantitative method, reproducible for the different types of properties and in any territory. It is built upon multiple criteria based on objective parameters. It also contemplates complementary participation actions by conducting surveys to the inhabitants. The application of the method has allowed the hierarchy of the assets according to their patrimonial interest. Numerous properties of extraordinary value have been detected. However, a significant proportion of the inventory has obtained low scores, because of the deterioration of the agricultural space of La Huerta. The implementation validates the proposed methodology as an important tool regarding the decision-making and the design of management actions and evaluation.