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Research Report 601 Understanding the value of transport investment in historic and cultural heritage

Published: | Category: Environmental impacts of land transport , Research programme , Research & reports | Audiences: Advice and assistance, General, Land developers, Local & regional government

The 2015 Government Policy Statement on Land Transport focuses on economic growth, productivity, road safety, and value for money. The transport system must also support economic, social, cultural and environmental well-being. This means that road controlling authorities (RCAs) must mitigate the impacts of their projects on heritage sites without placing an unreasonable funding burden on the economy. 

RCAs such as the Transport Agency have their own approaches for assessing and managing historic and cultural heritage. No consistent national guidelines for heritage conservation actions exist, however, which creates risks and opportunities during project development, delivery and ongoing ownership of heritage.

The requirements for heritage conservation follow from designation processes, but do not necessarily strengthen the heritage and cultural values of structures and environments. An economic perspective of such values can improve the value for money of heritage investments, and support New Zealand’s heritage stock. 

We review the literature on how heritage values are assessed and expressed in heritage and economic literature, and provide an overview of heritage within mātauranga Māori. From this review, we develop a framework for consistent assessment of the economic values of historic and cultural heritage, including meaningful options for their quantification and monetisation.

Keywords: cultural heritage, economic benefits, historic heritage, integrated assessment, Māori values, mātauranga Māori

Publication details

  • Author:
  • Published: December 2016
  • Reference: 601
  • ISBN/ISSN: 78-0-9941397-8-8