Interdisciplinary Relationships, Influence, and Aspirations for Smart Heritage in Local Government

Abstract

Local governments are responding to rising complexities in service delivery, governance, and civic stewardship with novel interdisciplinary discourses that converge previously separate disciplines. Smart Heritage, the novel convergence of smart city and heritage disciplines, is one interdisciplinary discourse that local governments utilise to address these demands. To successfully deliver Smart Heritage, local governments must understand how the interdisciplinary relationships, influence, and aspirations function within their organisation. However, due to the novelty of Smart Heritage, no academic research exists on these matters, particularly within local government contexts. Therefore, this article reports how relationships, influence, and strategic aspirations between the smart city and heritage discipline intersect as Smart Heritage. It draws on interviews with smart city and heritage advisors from three local governments in Australia. It finds a case-by-case working relationship between the disciplines, which indicates an emergent-yet-tenuous Smart Heritage discourse. Moreover, the interdisciplinary relationships influence broader considerations from the advisors than their single discipline. These considerations produce innovative aspirations for local governments on heritage and smart city matters. This finding establishes the first foundational understanding of Smart Heritage within local government.