Rural development and Heritage commons management in Asturias (Spain): the ecomuseum of Santo Adriano

Abstract

Our paper presents the case study of a common framework that has been developed for the management of heritage resources in a peripheral and impoverished area of rural Asturias (Spain). The article further explores the potential of conceiving heritage as a common good for enhancement, preservation and public outreach purposes, considering the current crisis state of public institutions in the whole West due to the prevalence of neoliberal governmentality frameworks. Our research argues that the creation of a brand that equates the region of Asturias with a somehow pristine natural environment untouched by humans, and the public management frameworks of cultural heritage, undermine the immanent relation between communities and their heritage and renders ineffectively any attempt to achieve rural sustainable development. We affirm that the consideration of heritage as a commons enables researchers, institutions and local communities to establish a more democratic and functional framework for the management, enhancement and preservation of heritage elements and facilitates the creation of democratic frameworks of decision making that foster sustainable development at a local scale.