New Methods for Social Value
- James Lesh
- 20 hours ago
- 5 min read
This book review originally appears in the International Journal of Heritage Studies in 2026.
Assessing the social values of heritage: methods in theory and practice
Elizabeth Robson
Abingdon, Routledge, 2025, 230 pp.
ISBN 978-1-032-80526-9
Review by Dr James Lesh
Elizabeth Robson’s monograph, Assessing the Social Values of Heritage: Methods in Theory and Practice, is an important contribution to Critical Heritage Studies. Drawing on her expertise as a qualitative researcher, the volume develops from her doctoral thesis, Wrestling with Social Value: An Examination of Methods and Approaches for Assessing Social Value in Heritage Management and Conservation; completed at the University of Stirling between 2018 and 2021 and jointly funded by the University of Stirling and Historic Environment Scotland. Her methods-focused research was conducted with communities on heritage places in urban, regional and rural settings in Scotland.
Robson’s research is framed by the critical question: ‘How can we better understand the social values associated with the historic environment?’ (8). The volume explores both the conceptual recognition of social value in scholarship and the structural recognition of social value by authorities. It also focuses on the application of social value: ‘incorporated into the day-to-day work of managing and conserving the historic environment’ (194).
The conceptual contribution of the work is found through Robson’s adoption of sociologist John Law’s assemblage theory. She also notes the impacts of technological changes, like the ‘new mobilities paradigm’, and the growing literature on heritage and community wellbeing. The framework of the ‘methods assemblage’ enables Robson to examine heritage relationships, practices, epistemologies and materialities; encompassing the dynamic interactions between people, objects and places.
Robson is directly writing into the field of Critical Heritage Studies, and particularly the work on people-centred heritage, methodologies and social value. She frequently cites Chris Johnston’s What Is Social Value? (Australian Government Publishing Service, 1992); Laurajane Smith’s Uses of Heritage (Routledge, 2006); and Rebecca Madgin and James Lesh’s edited collection, People-Centred Methodologies for Heritage Conservation (Routledge, 2021).
From her extensive literature review, Robson defines social value as ‘the significance of the historic environment to contemporary communities, including people’s sense of identity, belonging, attachment and place’ (11). For Robson, social value is contextual and plural; continuously remade through contemporary community practices. It is, indeed, inherently tied to communities; the membership of which is complex and involves negotiation that depends on shared knowledge and site-based practices. Further, community hierarchies rely on knowledge or practices that can exclude others. As such, Robson seeks to identify silences and absences caused by structural inequalities, while also cognisant of her own positionality.
The methodologies adopted for social value assessment are innovative and extensive. Robson employed rapid, qualitative and participatory approaches, achieved through a diverse array of methods: conversation and dialogue including interviews and group activities; visitation to place, including transect walks and in-person ethnographic observation; digital/online netnography and creative techniques such as photography and arts-based activities.
Robson’s book is organised into four broad sections that progress logically from establishing theoretical grounding to applying research findings in practice. The initial chapters (Chapters 1–3) lay the theoretical and methodological groundwork. This theoretical focus transitions to practical application in the second section (Chapter 4). The third section of the book is dedicated to presenting the findings from this research (Chapters 5–7). The book concludes with a section evaluating implications and future directions for social value scholarship and practice (Chapters 8–9).
The scale of Robson’s qualitative research is impressive. She examined seven sites across Scotland, including two with no formal heritage status; contextually, across urban, regional and rural settings; and temporally, ancient, modern and contemporary periods. Her research engaged 122 participants, including in structured and semi-structured interviews, workshops and transect walks. She also conducted desktop research on all of the sites and analysed social media content, such as 60 images tagged #SauchiehallLane on Instagram. In parallel, Robson undertook deep engagement with formal and informal groups associated with each of the seven case studies.
The comparative findings from the seven sites demonstrate how each individual heritage context requires distinguishable approaches to yield their unique social values and the associated benefits for site management:
The Arnol Blackhouse, Isle of Lewis: Conserved vernacular house. Methods included interviews and a ‘postcard to the future’ activity. Findings: socially and culturally embedded, valued as a place for communal gathering.
Cables Wynd House, Edinburgh: Listed, occupied twentieth-century housing. Methods: Structured interviews, photo-elicitation and online observation. Findings: A place of residence, employment and a social hub.
The Caterthuns, Angus: Iron-Age hill forts. Methods: Structured interviews and multi-sensory observation. Findings: Valued for solitude and peace and connecting to the wider landscape setting.
Dun Carloway Broch, Isle of Lewis: Iron-Age monument. Methods: Semi-structured interviews and participatory mapping. Findings: A powerful symbol of local identity and a place of play.
The Hood Stones, Loch Eriboll: Twentieth-century site (no formal status). Methods: Interviews, transect walks and extensive netnography. Findings: Valued for memorialising activities, linked to continuity and networks of relationships.
Kinneil House and Estate, Bo’ness: Complex historic site. Methods: Mix including structured interviews, focus groups, transect walks and creative postcard design. Findings: Highly valued as a symbol of community belonging and crucial for recreation, education and residence.
Sauchiehall Lane, Glasgow: Urban lane with unsanctioned graffiti practice (imited formal status). Methods: Semi-structured interviews, physical traces mapping and netnography. Findings: A place of creative practice, marked by conflict and tension.
As an urban historian, the case studies at Cables Wynd House and Sauchiehall Lane, Edinburgh and Glasgow respectively, especially resonated for me. These are both heritage spaces that operate at the edge of official heritage and middle-class community sensibilities. Social housing can be ostracised for its working-class residents. Graffiti is a counter-cultural creative practice. As an outsider to these social worlds and city environments, Robson did well to meaningfully engage both communities, to gain trust and respect among them, and then to bring social value to the fore.
Indeed, when brought into dialogue, the seven case study sites highlight the complexity and situatedness of social value. Robson is aware that each case study is unique, while also demonstrating how mixed and flexible social value methods consistently yield valuable insights in all contexts.
For Robson, a core tension is the clash between the fluid, plural nature of social value and institutional demands for certainty, fixed categories and objective heritage metrics. The book exposes three primary challenges that diminish social values in heritage practice: legislative biases emphasising historic and aesthetic values; institutional structures conflicting with communities; and operational barriers among practitioners.
The integration of heritage with assembly theory, the strong and original methodology, the comprehensive grounded policy review and the extensive qualitative methods make Assessing the Social Values of Heritage a significant contribution to the scholarship. It is suited for graduate students and specialists in Critical Heritage Studies. While the focus is Scotland, the insights are broadly applicable; particularly for the United Kingdom and Australia, the sources of the literature most cited in the book.
The book is fundamentally a PhD dissertation translated into a monograph. Much of the PhD scaffolding is kept in place, which is helpful for understanding the conceptual and methodological insights of the volume. However, such an approach makes the volume less accessible for practitioners and for the communities engaged. Fortunately, Robson has been active in publishing Historic Scotland’s Social Value Toolkit and maintaining her personal website, both of which provide alternative and accessible pathways to her research.
Overall, Robson succeeds in her mission of adopting a methods assemblage to provide for an original and effective model for a reflexive and inclusive heritage practice that embraces social values. This works to reveal the multiplicities, diversity and dynamism of social values and the ways their incorporation into heritage practice produces stronger heritage and community outcomes. She succeeds in not only advocating for but also implementing people-centred heritage management.
