Chat — cultural history spearheads

Digital cultural history atlas of the Province of Utrecht (CHAT), spearheads cultural history. The existing spatial quality of the province of Utrecht gives direction to the possibilities and impossibilities of developments. This mainly occurs in the rural area, but also has an impact on developments in the urban area. Cultural-historical structures also run through urban areas and cores lie in landscapes which influence developments, especially at the edge of the core. The cultural historical and archaeological values together give a picture of the history of the province of Utrecht. These values greatly contribute to spatial quality and strengthen people’s historical awareness. The Province wants to contribute to ensuring that these values are preserved as much as possible and can be lived through information and opportunities for use and development. With its spatial heritage policy, the Province wants to contribute to the preservation, strengthening and making cultural history of the province of Utrecht accessible. This results in a strategy of safeguarding cultural historical values on the one hand and, on the other hand, steering spatial developments from the coherent cultural-historical qualities on the ground. “Preservation through development” is the starting point. The Cultural History Main Structure (CHS) forms the basis of this policy. In order to guarantee the entire palette of cultural historical values within the CHS, the Province uses the consultation with municipalities. In this, the Province will mainly focus on municipal plans for large-scale spatial developments. Within the CHS, the Province of Viif has selected priority themes on which the Province actively pursues policy and which the Province guarantees in the Provincial Spatial Regulation: 1. historical outdoor areas; 2. military heritage; 3. agricultural cultural landscape; 4. archaeology; 5. Historical infrastructure.