ECONOMICS UNIQUENESS

MAPPING HERITAGE ECONOMICS FOR SPATIAL ANALYSIS ■ 269
It also displays a continuity of values into successive leveled areas. Historic city
cores exemplify this approach, which is consistent with the assessment of an
aggregate economic value.
Th e process of adding up layers of values is not an obvious one. First, there
is a risk of double counting by adding similar indicators, or data that envision
the same reality through separate assessment. Th en, any composite or aggregate
index requires a sound weighting process: Are non-use values more signifi cant
than use values? Are direct use values more important than indirect use values?
Finally, individual maps display indicators, with no standardized metric or unit
of account. 15
An economic landscape map is made of compounded values measured for
an entire area. Successive layers of values have been laid on top of each other, the
fi rst layer being a base map. Th e fi nal product visualizes the economic landscape
of the city (map 9.6).
Economic landscapes change over time. Although values are connected
to a static urban fabric, the economic decisions and behavior of stakeholders
determine how values get transformed, and how these changes shift across
the city in dynamic ways. Th e economic landscape is also an identifi cation
mark for a historic city core, its pattern revealing how the heritage and the
city economy are connected. Various patterns of economic landscapes are
MAP 9.6
Multi-layered Map of the Economic Values of Diest, Belgium, Laid over
the Base Map
Source: Author.