Urban political ecologies of heritage: Integrating cultural and natural landscapes in Penang, Malaysia

Abstract

Over the past few decades, there have been numerous studies examining the interface between cultural heritage conservation and urban (re)development, particularly in rapidly developing regions. On the other hand, scholars have also examined nature conservation movements in the context of encroaching (urban) development. However, this body of research has, with a few exceptions, not considered the interrelationship between natural and cultural heritage in urban settings. The paper argues that a renewed understanding of urban heritage – consisting of both cultural and natural elements – is required for effective and socio‐ecologically sustainable approaches to heritage conservation and urban development. To illustrate this argument, the paper draws on an empirical examination of Penang Hill, which is a culturally and ecologically significant area of Penang Island, Malaysia. In conceptualising this relationship, the paper draws on the urban political ecologies of landscape, which is useful in examining the urbanisation of nature and problematising distinctions between urban/rural and natural/cultural. As I will demonstrate, invocations of Penang's rich natural heritage are often framed alongside urban and cultural heritage in local resistance to these developments, which relate to the particular socio‐environmental sensibilities of local stakeholders. The analysis is based on discursive analysis of primary written sources and original interviews with local residents and civil society activists, which helps to demonstrate the crucial role of local communities in achieving more socio‐ecologically just forms of heritage management.

Reimagining landscape: Materiality, decoloniality, and creativity

“…Landscapes as co-fabricated between more-than-human bodies and a lively earth have turned attention to ‘the processes and excesses of ‘livingness’ in a more-than-human world’ (Whatmore, 2006: 604; see also e.g. Barua, 2014; Clancy et al, 2021; Connolly, 2017, 2020; Davies, 2021; Garlick, 2019; Geros, 2021; Marijnen, 2021). Crucially, this landscape research explores the entanglements of human habitation and environmental interaction by attending closely to the materialities of landscape.…”

“…The politics of environmental change is increasingly the focus of work on the more-than-human and political ecologies in landscape (e.g. Barua, 2014; Brettell, 2016; Clancy et al, 2021; Connolly, 2017, 2020; Davies, 2021; Duggan, 2021; Garlick, 2019; Geros, 2021; Hubbard and Wilkinson, 2019; Huddart and Huggan, 2022; Jamieson, 2017; Marijnen, 2021; McConnell and Saladyga, 2020; Ojeda et al, 2021; Olden, 2017; Ray, 2016; Sutherland, 2021; Youngs, 2020). Rapid environmental change is increasingly affecting landscape futures, and this ‘not only puts immediate pressure on identifying alternative futures for landscapes but also threatens to unsettle patterns of attachment to the landscape’ (Bartolini and DeSilvey, 2021: 8).…”

Diversity of Plants and Their Cultural Significance in The Kotagede Heritage Sites, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

“…Several efforts have been conducted to integrating cultural and natural assets in a landscape, such as in Penang, Malaysia (Connolly, 2020), Ouro Preto, Brazil (Bhakti et al, 2021), Lampung, Indonesia (Syahiib et al, 2023). The main goal of such an initiative is to use scientific approach to embrace indigenous knowledge and to protect biodiversity in an ecocultural landscape (Ogar et al, 2020).…”

Understanding Multi-stakeholder Complexity & Developing a Causal Recipe (fsQCA) for achieving Sustainable Ecotourism

“…Penang Hill, similar to other world-famous tourism destinations, consists of multiple stakeholders. However, to date, minimal studies have explored stakeholders' perspectives, and is limited to the local community (Jaafar et al, 2021a , 2021b ), conservation (Lowman et al, 2019 ) and sociocultural heritage development (Connolly, 2019 ) present on the Hill (Jaafar et al, 2021a , 2021b ). This indicates a paucity of research and a gap to be filled for exploring the perspectives of other key stakeholders present in Penang Hill.…”