ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that heritage is closely linked to places and is used as a means of identification of people with spatial entities. It appears that the questions about the correct spatial scale, or ownership, are either unanswerable, or at best susceptible to too many conflicting answers. The chapter analyses the case for a global heritage, before turning to a consideration of its limits and indeed its contestation. These global claims to heritage are reflected in the existence of international associations, pressure groups and intergovernmental organizations charged with designating, maintaining and promoting global heritage. A global heritage can only exist in a significant form when it is globally valued to the same extent, and that will not occur until the unlikely event of consumption priorities being similar throughout the world. Quebec City, declared a World Heritage Site in 1984, is a fundamentally different example of the challenges imposed by this designation.
