CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2022
| Author | Manukyan, Lilit |
|---|---|
| Title | Interpretation and Utilization of Industrial Heritage Values: Vanadzor City, Armenia |
| Summary | Vanadzor is one of the many urban communities in Armenia experiencing deindustrialization since the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The following thirty years were a period of social and economic decline turning the once active factory buildings scattered throughout the urban landscape. The local government has presented its vision on the future of the city in urban development documents, but they do not have any strategic approach towards the vacant and redundant industrial places. So far, no research has been done to explore how the locals perceive these material remains of the industrial past in terms of urban heritage and their role in the present city. The aim of this research is to explore the values and meanings the locals attribute to former industrial sites and buildings, and to map their visions and suggestions on how to utilize the industrial remains for community needs. The research is based on interpretive methodology and uses qualitative and quantitative methods․ Interviews and an online survey were conducted with community members representing voices of former workers, the younger generation, municipality officials, tourism stakeholders, architects, and urban planners. History books, social media content as well as policy documents were also analyzed to reveal various values attributed to and approaches towards the industrial heritage of Vanadzor. The study found out that former industrial buildings and sites evoking memories of the industrial past are evaluated by locals in terms of their urban and personal biographies, communal and professional identities. Many ideas and practices of current and potential, future re-use of the buildings were identified. Based on the locals’ values and visions and the experience of how similar sites have been re-used outside Armenia, the thesis concludes with a set of suggestions on how to include the concept of industrial heritage into the urban development plans in Vanadzor and how to ii establish a multi-stakeholder collaboration to re-use the assets of industrial heritage for current community needs. |
| Supervisor | Mérai, Dóra |
| Department | Medieval Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2022/manukyan_lilit.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2021, Central European University