The Royal Mile, Edinburgh: 1774 (2011) to 2021: a call for sustainable tourism?

In a?previous blog, ?I provided an overview of my research??about Scottish Tourism which was conducted over a near 20 year period. This sequel focuses upon Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, which spans a study conducted between 2011 and 2021, but draws upon profiles of the Royal Mile at 50 year intervals going back to 1774, this being the earliest dataset at hand.

My focus upon the Royal Mile was triggered by a desire to understand what it meant to be?authentic.?I had observed??the word authentic in a wide variety of tourism related materials. However, it is unclear what it means to be authentic. To explore the meaning of this word, it was assumed that, give the historical significance of the Royal Mile to Scottish History and its tourism footprint, then this would be an appropriate case to study.

This led to six audits’ of the Royal Mile commencing in 2011. These followed a methodology that emerged with each subsequent audit. The audit was conducted over the same period in June each year to provide consistency. Due to the proximity of the Royal Mile, anything noticed of other visits was captured and recorded to provide supplementary material. The stages of the approach were:?

-????????All street facing non-residential properties were identified and listed in a spreadsheet. This was assisted by referencing the Scottish Assessors Association database of properties for details of address, ownership and tenancy.

-????????The street was walked, taking note of what was observed, including the taking of photographs.?

-????????The material was compiled into the audit reports. These reports comprised two core elements. First, was a profile of the inventory and any changes over the previous audit. Second, is the compilation of a table of all non-residential properties providing details about usage, ownership, tenancy, and changes. Despite extensive cross-checking, any errors in earlier reports were picked up in the preparation of the latest report and reported.?

Due to circumstances, only 5 audits were published:?

2011 [i] : This first audit is mainly a narrative told through 181 photographs organised by a range of themes that include architecture, community, retail offering, prominent people, traditions and pageantry, festivals and legacies from past times. This provides the baseline for the subsequent audits.??

2012 [ii] : The second audit commenced with a review of changes over the year, supporting this with photographs. It was followed with a snapshot of the community presence, again told mainly through photographs.?

2013 [iii] : This third audit was possibly the most ambitious.??It commenced with a review of changes over the year. This revealed that, when compared to the first audit, within the short period of two years there was a noticeable shift from community orientated outlets to those serving tourists. This insight was reported in the local and national press. A variety of themes were subsequently explored: cashmere, due to its prominence, kiltmakers and whisky, due to their cultural significance, and street tours, due to their commercial significance. Police boxes, a legacy of a past age, revealed different states of usage.??Street art (graffiti) was also explored, not because to the unusual legitimacy of this space, but due to the community expression in this space. Photos revealed the historical character of the city expressed in its architecture. This was followed by a photographic overview of all of the many openings onto the Royal Mile (i.e. closes, wynds, courts and streets). This revealed their diversity and uniqueness, collectively presenting a rich blend of the historical, modern, cultural and the everyday. Embarrassingly, one close was somehow omitted. Watson’s Court, please forgive me.??

Audits were conducted in 2014 and 2015. However, due to circumstances, these were not published at the time, and no subsequent audits were conducted until 2021. Much work had been conducted for the 2014 study, this including the mapping of the Royal Mile for the years 1774, 1814, 1864, 1914 and 1964 using the Post Office Directories. Following Covid19, it was decided to carry out one final audit to permit a ten-year evaluation of how the Royal Mile had changed. It was also decided to complete and publish the 2014 audit, this allowing the study to be put into the historical context of the profiled years.

2014 iv?(published in 2021). This audit provided the first detailed account of the methodology that had emerged in the audit activities. In keeping with the previous audits, it provided a comparison with the previous year. Moreover, it provided a comparison of aspects of the infrastructure with 1914, this exposing the challenge of establishing the ‘closes, wynds, courts and streets’ infrastructure. Indeed, this revealed Watson’s Court, missing from my previous audits, having been possibly mistaken due to its appearance. The impact is relatively insignificant as the focus of these audits are the properties, not the openings. Nevertheless, this highlights how a detail can be overlooked. SORRY

2015: not published

2021 v:??This report, which completes the study, contextualises the study and highlights the social significance of the Royal Mile. It provides an insight into how the street has developed since the late 1700s, including its legacy from earlier times. Further, profiles are presented of the character of the Royal Mile for five earlier periods commencing with 1774, then at 50-year intervals to tie in with the 2014 audit (i.e. 1814, 1864, 1914 and 1964). This revealed a socially integrated street comprising all social classes in 1774. However, by 1814 it??was starting to socially sort itself as people migrated to the New Town. By 1864,??it had become a place of overcrowding and poverty. Subsequent developments started to lead to better conditions, these being evident in 1914 and 1964. At all times there was the appearance of a strong local community. Following this historical review, the first three audits were then reflectively evaluated against this backdrop. This revealed the intrusion of tourism and the displacement of the community. The insights from the 2021 audit were then presented and compared to the 2011 audit, acknowledging the impact of the Covid19 lockdown (2020). It revealed the deeply ingrained presence of tourism, to the demise of the community. Amongst the surprises were the two building conversions, the first related to Holyrood Palace and the other to the City Chambers. This is particularly significant, given my spoof blog I published on the 23rd?April 2016 entitled “WELCOME TO EDINBURGH. It is the 7th June 2020 ”!!! Given te apparent commodification of the Royal Mile for the benefit of tourism, attention was then drawn to the concept of ‘sustainable tourism ’ as a relevant consideration for the evaluation and future development of the Royal Mile.??

These audits were complemented by an evaluation of the concept of authenticity (2012 [iv] ) which was?presented [v] ?at?NA:WH [0729] [vi] ?(12-15th March 2013) [incidentally introduced by Jukka Jokilehto, an influential author on authenticy with a long association with the international cultural conservation organisation ICCROM!]. It was concluded that the concept of authenticity was one that was elusive and complex as suggested in figure 1. However, whilst authenticity might be difficult to define, I argue that, if the meaning or significance is stripped out of whatever?it?is we are referring to, the more inauthentic?it?becomes – culminating in total disregard of the meaning or significance of whatever?it?is, in the pursuit of making a 'quick buck'. The evidence from this ten year study invites the question of whether and, if so, by how much the Royal Mile has lost its authenticity. This has implications for those who are the guardians of the space or ‘place’ and whether they ensure there is anything to pass on to future generation that has meaning and significance for this place.?

To conclude, perhaps, the authenticity that can be associated with a place such as the Royal Mile, is associated with the concept of sustainable tourism, with its emphasis upon, not only environmental (green) issues, but also economic impacts that are related to social impacts. Indeed, should not the aim be to protect the wealth of the place so that future generations can have the same access, benefits and opportunities without the place becoming a museum? Irrespective, I offer this study to whoever is interested and invite others to replicate this study in their own locations as a means to record both what exists and changes over time.

REFERENCES:?

Conferences:

June 2013: The Uses and Abuses of Heritage: Past and Place-Making in Scotland.?WORKSHOP : Friday, 21st?June 2013.?

Mar, 2013: Framing authenticity in Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.?na:wh [0728]?Conference ?on World Heritage, 15th?Mar, 2013 University of Edinburgh.?link

Working & Technical Papers:

Aug. 2021: An Audit of a UNESCO World Heritage site – the Royal Mile, Edinburgh: a preliminary search for authenticity - Ten years later.??Report , Business School, University of Edinburgh [ISBN:?978-1-912669-43-1].

Jul. 2021: An Audit of a UNESCO World Heritage site – the Royal Mile, Edinburgh: a preliminary search for authenticity - Three years later.??Report , Business School, University of Edinburgh [ISBN:?978-1-912669-42-4].

Aug, 2013:??An Audit of a UNESCO World Heritage site – the Royal Mile, Edinburgh: a preliminary search for authenticity - Two years later.??Working Paper, Series: 13.01 , Business School, University of Edinburgh [ISBN: 978-1-906816-09-4].

Aug, 2012:??‘Authenticity’: a familiar word but what are the implications for a destination if it is a popular tourism destination as well as a UNESCO World Heritage site??Co-authored with Dahlia El-Manstrly.?Working Paper, Series: 12.04 , Business School, University of Edinburgh [ISBN: 978-1-906816-07-0].

Jul, 2012: ??An Audit of a UNESCO World Heritage site – the Royal Mile, Edinburgh: a preliminary search for authenticity - One year later. Co-authored with Dahlia El-Manstrly, Business School, University of Edinburgh.?Working Paper, Series: 12.03 , Business School, University of Edinburgh [ISBN: 978-1-906816-06-3]

May, 2012: ?An Audit of a UNESCO World Heritage site – the Royal Mile, Edinburgh: a preliminary search for authenticity. Co-authored with Dahlia El-Manstrly.?Working Paper, Series: 12.02 , Business School, University of Edinburgh [ISBN: 978-1-906816-18-6].

Blog:

Apr. 2016: WELCOME TO EDINBURGH. It is the 7th?June 2020”!??https://drsharwood.blogspot.com/2016/04/welcome-to-edinburgh-it-is-7th-june-2020.html?spref=tw

News articles:

Aug. 2013: Cashmere shops 'make Mile bland',?GLASGOW HERALD , 21st Aug, 2013

Aug. 2013: Bland’ Royal Mile full of cashmere shop clones,?EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS , 20th Aug, 2013

This research has been acknowledged by The Cockburn Association:?Euan Leitch: Royal Mile shouldn’t just be for tourists, 27th Feb. 2013.?

Planning Democracy, drawing upon this research,?highlighted?the importance of the 'local business' in contrast to the 'foreign investor' for local economic development:?Economic Benefit? Maybe, but Where, and for Whom? A Closer Look at Edinburgh City Center’s Hotel Boom, ?31st March 2014.

[i] ?https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/an-audit-of-a-unesco-world-heritage-site--the-royal-mile-edinburgh%28ad37dfac-0adc-4138-a401-2c4b31e29173%29.html

[ii] ?https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/an-audit-of-a-unesco-world-heritage-site--the-royal-mile-edinburgh-a-preliminary-search-for-authenticity-one-year-later%28d357f288-910a-45ad-ad16-e8cc1652a7a7%29.html

[iii] ?https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/an-audit-of-a-unesco-world-heritage-site--the-royal-mile-edinburgh-a-preliminary-search-for-authenticity(894b4963-cf2b-4da1-a888-a0d26017f0fd).html

[iv] ?https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/files/4739148/12_04.pdf

[v] ?https://newarchitectures.com/2013/03/15/harwood_02/

[vi] ?https://newarchitectures.com/c201303/