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Sustainability of the Palestinian historic village of Battir

Lana Kudumovic (Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakif University, İstanbul, Turkey)

Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development

ISSN: 2044-1266

Article publication date: 12 July 2021

Issue publication date: 12 January 2023

262

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to assess the proper built heritage preservation and management as important steps toward sustainability for the case of village Battir. In particular, the historic village core and its surroundings were elaborated. Battir is a Palestinian village located to the south of Jerusalem, famous for landscape terraces traditionally used in their authentic form since the Roman time. Because of its outstanding universal values, Battir was inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage list (WHL) in 2014.

Design/methodology/approach

To present the potentials of Battir to become a sustainable asset, the results of the Sustainable Plan have been used in this paper. Among the proposed strategies of the Plan methodology for the historic core conservation was emphasized. Referring to the same methodology, key findings about the current state of conservation are elaborated as well as proposals for the village core enhancements.

Findings

As a result of an on-site survey, the Plan outlines several strategies, which are summarized in this paper. Within each strategy, the role and benefits for the inhabitants are evaluated along with the overview of the proposed interventions for the historic tissue preservation.

Originality/value

Challenges of the village's heritage preservation have been elaborated under the comprehensive Sustainable Plan that was initiated, prepared and lead by International Peace and Cooperation Center (IPCC). Here, sustainability refers to the better managing of available natural and cultural resources and features, while at the same time, creating new socio-economic opportunities for inhabitants.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This research was based on the result of project “Sustainable Battir Challenges and Opportunities” prepared by the (International Peace and Cooperation Center) team. The author of this paper was a team member and has all right to use the obtained data.

Citation

Kudumovic, L. (2023), "Sustainability of the Palestinian historic village of Battir", Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 28-42. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCHMSD-08-2020-0124

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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