All rights reservedKatapidi, Ioanna2024-10-232024-10-232016978-85-7785-551-1https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14235/2118Proceedings of the IV World Planning Schools Congress, July 3-8th, 2016 : Global crisis, planning and challenges to spatial justice in the north and in the southThe reconsideration of heritage from a given ‘object’ with pre-defined meanings and values, to a process constructed, enacted and performed by individuals, based on their current values and needs has been receiving an increased interest (Ashworth 1994; 2012; Lowenthal 1985; Smith 2006; Schofield 2014). Indeed there is a wide consensus on the idea of heritage, in the context of urban places, as the result of deliberate selection rather than as an ontological reality of intrinsic and uncontested worth. Within this frame, examining people’s perceptions of heritage is of seminal importance in understanding what heritage is about and for what reasons (Graham, Ashworth and Tunbridge 2000; Stubbs 2004). However, it is often authorised views in identifying and qualifying something as heritage that still dominate. Authorised views of heritage, as expressed via conservation policies, have been questioned about their capacity to respond to local needs and to represent locals’ meanings and values. Schofield (2014) argues that since heritage relies on personal perceptions and interpretations everyone may be an expert, in a sense that everyone may have his/her own insights regarding the ‘object’ and ‘value’ of heritage. In this respect, examining the way that heritage is perceived not only by experts but also by lay people may contribute significantly to understanding what heritage, within a context of place, is about and why. This research examines the way in which people perceive heritage in living heritage places focusing on Greek traditional settlements. Despite the increased interest in examining the ways by which people perceive heritage (Smith 2006; Paillard 2012; Ashworth 1994), knowledge on lay-people perspectives of heritage in conjunction with these of experts within an area is still limited (Larkham 2000; Pendlebury 2009; Borer 2006).EnglishopenAccessconferenceObject859-862