Cultural heritage as a driver for change : scenario development in the fishing village of Borstahusen

Sammanfattning

Coastal communities are facing increasing challenges in the form of climate change, rising sea levels, increased spatial pressure from tourism and the need for more sustainable and local food systems. Many historic fishing villages have developed through long-standing relationships between sea and land, where small-scale fishing, maritime knowledge, and strong social ties have shaped both tangible and intangible cultural heritage values. This raises the question of how such coastal communities can meet contemporary challenges and if cultural heritage can become an active resource in the process of change. This thesis examines how cultural heritage can serve as a driving force in the work of shaping an adaptable and resilient future. This is done through a case study of Borstahusen on the west coast of Skåne. A DIVE analysis has been done to identify the cultural significance of the place, with the results showing its historical development and how maritime practices, the small-scale settlement structure, and the strong local identity have shaped the place. Based on the DIVE results and literature studies, three exploratory scenarios were developed: Protecting the Coast, Feeding the Coast, and Selling the Coast, each of which addresses climate change, food systems, and increased tourism and exploitation. The scenarios were designed as a combination of reactive and proactive futures to highlight how different directions in development can take place and to highlight their consequences. Through two selection processes, the interventions proposed in the three previous scenarios are combined into a fourth scenario, The Adaptive Coast. During the work, a critical insight emerged regarding the adaptive nature of cultural heritage and the risk of it being adapted to standardized and ecologically unsustainable solutions. This led to the second selection of interventions, in which four criteria were formulated. These criteria were formed based on the literature study and the results of the DIVE analysis, where the starting point was ecological sustainability and cultural continuity. The study shows that scenario planning can serve as an exploratory and communicative tool for managing and understanding uncertain futures. This is because the creation of future scenarios can open discussion, be tested, and adjusted according to new insights. As cultural heritage is a dynamic process created by various overlapping processes, it can help to understand change and contribute to the development of sustainable and resilient coastal developments without losing their identity.