Border landscapes as heritage – Theoretical and practical guidelines for reading the StoryMaps

This report introduces the conceptual and methodological premises for researching border landscapes as heritage and for producing digitalized StoryMaps. The research is grounded on narrative approach and citizen science, and it responds to the three specific objectives of B-SHAPES: 1) studying people’s relations to landscape; 2) studying how different age groups relate to borders’ impact on landscapes; and 3) providing new knowledge and understanding of how common heritage of nature and landscape can bring people together across borders.

The research activities and citizen engagement were conducted in four European border regions: Tornio Valley (Finland-Sweden), Schleswig (Denmark-Germany), Öresund (Denmark-Sweden), and the Bulgaria-Greek borderlands. First, institutionalized heritage narratives of the border landscapes were identified and explored through desk work. Second, a borderwalk research method and technique was developed and implemented to study border landscapes as people’s heritage. All together 42 borderwalk focus groups were conducted in the four border regions, engaging 174 young and senior borderland citizens. Third, the research material was examined and processed to create the StoryMap manuscripts of the border regions. Fourth, the manuscripts were edited and digitalized with ArcGIS Online StoryMap program.

The digital StoryMaps, the key outcome of the research, bring together the institutionalized heritage narratives and people’s narratives of border landscapes. The StoryMaps introduce the cultural and nature sites that young and senior borderlanders value and consider meaningful. The findings point out that the institutionalized border heritage is important for many borderlanders. People make sense of their everyday environments and personal experiences of borders in relation to public border narratives. The research findings offer new knowledge and insights into perceptions and narratives of border landscapes as heritage.