Optimization of Cultural Heritage Site Governance Based on the Perspective of Community Empowerment: A Case Study of Rebala Village

Abstract

Based on the perspective of community empowerment, this study integrates research on cultural heritage site governance, clarifying the current situation of cultural heritage site governance in the context of tourism development. Through the process of community empowerment, the phenomenon of "power loss in community" caused by tourism is transformed into "community empowerment." The study considered the village of Jabala in Longshan County, Hunan Province as an example and, using text analysis and in-depth interview methods, analyzed how to optimize the governance path of cultural heritage sites. The results indicated the following: (1) the power loss in the cultural heritage site community is embodied in four aspects: economic, psychological, social, and political loss. The economic loss in communities is embodied in uneven employment opportunities, unequal income and remuneration, and uneven development opportunities. Psychological loss in communities is affected by multiple factors such as lack of development opportunities for residents, lack of government support, and a wide gap between residents' psychology and reality. Psychological loss is a weakening of local value identity and the local attachment complex. The social loss of communities is affected by the discouragement of the dissemination of traditional culture and a fracture of the social network. The political "aphasia" of community residents hinders their willingness to stay in their hometowns. (2) Cultural heritage sites redistribute resources, rights, and capital through community empowerment methods such as "power to," "power with," and "power from within." "Power to" and "power from within" achieve effects through three levels: the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage resources, the protection and utilization of tangible cultural heritage resources, and the activation and creation of public spaces. "Power with" aims to jointly plan community affairs and rationally allocate space resources and benefits. (3) Regarding "power with," strengthening policy transparency and community discourse will help community entities participate in governance. Regarding "power to," expanding resource distribution channels and strengthening cooperation between entities will help expand the channels of community governance. Regarding "power from within," standardizing governance entities, governance objects, and supervision methods will help refine community governance policies. Research will help improve the theoretical system of cultural heritage governance, optimize the governance path of cultural heritage sites, and provide references for the governance of other ethnic minority cultural heritage sites. It is an active exploration of local governance strategies, such as the activation of cultural heritage sites and the creation of public spaces. This study explores "how to optimize the governance of cultural heritage sites." In the future, based on this research, we will deepen the discussion on "how the community will interact with cultural heritage sites after being empowered," interpreting "the response to the optimized cultural heritage site" and perfecting the overall framework for research on the governance path of cultural heritage sites.

Keywords

• cultural heritage sites
• rural governance
• community empowerment
• community participation
• rebala village