Abstract

The paper presents the results of surveys of St. Petersburg youth on the preservation of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of St. Petersburg. Based on the latest concepts of the city as a place of identity, we present and analyze the results of two surveys on the identity of a young St.  Petersburg citizen and the city’s representation as a World Cultural Heritage site (n = 205). Our analysis includes various theoretical approaches and methods—quantitative, qualitative and discourse analyzes within the framework of the theory of practices, taking into account the approaches of an active agent (P. Bourdieu, De Certeau), while taking into account the actor- network theory (J. Low, B. Latour). Using semiotic methods, a synchronous analysis of the representations of drawings was carried out and the practices of young people in relation to the city, constructing urban identity, were reconstructed. Youth narratives classify urban identity along the axes of opposites: tradition and innovation; individualism and collectivism. We show that young people living in St. Petersburg primarily identify the city by its monumental cultural representations and aesthetic value, rather than by their familiar social identity. The practices and narratives of the monumental representation of the city largely crystallize personal identity. We show that the political implications lie in the understanding that the identification of the majority of young people surveyed with the city’s monuments is not responsible for their preservation and support for sustainable development policies, as has been the case over the past 5 years. At the same time, we were able to reconstruct meaningful criteria and recurring practices of youth in relation to historical heritage related to leisure and ideas for improving and transforming locations that need to be taken into account in order to involve society in urban planning. Based on the results obtained, we have already recommended the implementation of public policy measures to raise awareness among young people about the possibility and necessity of preserving cultural heritage.

Keywords: Discourse, Heritage, Youth, Practices, Ant, Identity