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The purpose of this paper is to describe the cross-fertilisation process between the concept of resilience and building conservation. The authors discuss how the conservation field can address new issues posed by climate change and whether the concept of resilience plays a role within the framework of sustainable building conservation.

Starting from the use of resilience as a “travelling concept”, different interpretations of the term emerging from different fields are compared and interrelated in order to understand how this concept can impact future research in building conservation.

In addition to summarising recent developments in conservation theory with a special focus on how sustainability has influenced the field, this work also suggests some lines of research where resilience could foster interdisciplinary approaches to building conservation and presents some controversial outcomes.

The paper raises a discussion on how the concept of resilience could renew the field of building conservation, helping contemporary society to address the challenges of climate change.

This chapter is interested in exploring whether philosophical understandings of authenticity are applicable to Western conceptualisation of heritage, from physical sites (tangible) to social practices (intangible). In viewing heritage as a dynamic process, the author argues that the concept of genius loci (or spirit of place) is the most logical theoretical framework to accommodate these shifting understandings of authenticity and heritage. Moreover, by moving beyond anthropomorphised and material-centred themes and focussing instead on participation, locus and action, building conservation can explore the dynamics between materials and meanings in order to work towards a more performative interpretation of historic building authenticity

The purpose of this paper is to set out a proposal for an indicator of conservation (Indicator of the State of Conservation – Isc) to assess the state of conservation of urban heritage sites. It was designed as a monitoring instrument to perform two tasks: to evaluate how the conservation of an urban site evolves over time (internal performance analysis); and to compare cities’ conservation performance (comparative performance analysis).

The indicator was developed using the theoretical approach. The paper presents the main concepts used as key performance indicators, that is, significance, integrity and authenticity and how they contribute to meeting the objective of attaining the sustainable conservation of heritage sites.

The Isc indicator is expressed as a function of three key performance indicators (KPIs) of significance, integrity and authenticity that are assessed by surveying the opinion of the main stakeholders involved with the conservation management of sites. The structure of the Isc is fixed and the same for all sites, independent of their geographical location. However, the structure of the KPIs can be adapted to express the social composition of stakeholders and to use the capabilities and resources of the management institutions of the sites.

The indicator may be used for monitoring the state of conservation of the World Heritage Urban Sites.

The indicator allows a non‐biased evaluation of the conservation process of the World Heritage Urban Sites.

The paper presents the Indicator of the State of Conservation (Isc), which is the first indicator of this type.

The paper aims to offer a contribution to the development of conservation scheme management by examining some of the ethical dilemmas that are commonly encountered in conservation projects.

The approach is a detailed and critical review of existing literature and recent policy direction.

A practitioner's response to the various dilemmas will not only need to be conditioned by the codes of conduct of the various professional institutions but also through the explicit recognition of the very different set of ethical dilemmas that are encountered in conservation projects.

The paper contributes to the broader appreciation of the ethical dilemmas that may be encountered in contemporary conservation practice. The paper can inform conservation consultants, administrators, specialist trades, educators and the non‐specialist reader.

Existing regulatory frameworks for identifying and treating historic buildings and places reflect deference to expert rule, which privilege the values of a small number of heritage experts over the values of the majority of people who visit, work, and reside in historic environments. To address this problem, the purpose of this paper is to explore a fundamental shift in how US federal and local preservation laws address built heritage by suggesting a dynamic, adaptive regulatory framework that incorporates heterodox approaches to heritage and therefore is capable of accommodating contemporary sociocultural values.

The overall approach the authors use is a comparative literature review from the fields of heterodox/orthodox heritage, heterodox/orthodox law, adaptive management, and participatory methods to inform the creation of a dynamic, adaptive regulatory framework.

Heterodox heritage emphasizes the need for a bottom-up, stakeholder-driven process, where everyday people’s values have the opportunity to be considered as being as valid as those of conventional experts. Orthodox law cannot accommodate this pluralistic approach, so heterodox law is required because, like heterodox heritage, it deconstructs power, values participation, and community involvement.

Orthodox heritage conservation practice disempowers most stakeholders and empowers conventional experts; this power differential is maintained by orthodox law.

To date, there have been few, if any, attempts to address critical heritage studies theory in the context of the regulatory environment. This paper appears to be the first such investigation in the literature.

The purpose of this paper is to set out a proposal for the concept of dynamic integrity. It is a heritage quality that may be attributed to heritage properties whose attributes are capable to express past and present meanings, and therefore values, in a context of change, without relying exclusively on records of memory. So, dynamic integrity (DI) emphasizes continuity in changing urban context and may be a key concept for the new Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach.

The concept of DI was developed using theory of complexity to critic the existing definitions of integrity and their use to in context of urban heritage area under the pressure for change.

The current concept of integrity, adopted by heritage field of knowledge, is not capable to deal with the complexity of the HUL. There is a tendency to define conservation as the regulation or control of change. This assumption is problematic since it emphasizes the changes of meanings, values and attributes, instead of the idea of continuity. Controlling change means fixing the attributes that express the meanings of heritage areas, and this is a task fated to be unsuccessful in complex cities or, even in not so complex urban sites.

It is the first time that the concept of integrity has been put to explain and manage the dynamics of urban heritage areas.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the concept of strategy in the field of heritage conservation, with a focus on a new conservation approach that promotes the empowerment of local communities and sustainable development: a living heritage approach.

The approaches to heritage conservation are outlined: a material-based approach defines the principles of western-based conservation, a values-based approach expands these principles, while a living heritage approach clearly challenges the established principles. These approaches are, then, analysed from the perspective of strategy, and a living heritage approach is seen as an example of strategic innovation. The process by which ICCROM develops a living heritage approach at an international level is also examined.

Choosing the “appropriate” conservation approach depends on the specific conditions of each heritage place. Yet, for the cases of living heritage in particular (with communities with an original connection with heritage) a living heritage approach would be more preferable. Living heritage approach can be seen as an example of a strategic innovation in the field of heritage conservation: it proposes a different concept of heritage and conservation (a new WHAT), points at a different community group as responsible for the definition and protection of heritage (a new WHO), and proposes a different way of heritage protection (a new HOW).

A living heritage approach (presented in the paper) may potentially influence the theory as well as the practice of heritage conservation in a variety of parts and heritage places in the world, especially in terms of the attitude towards local and indigenous communities.

Developing a new approach is, in a sense, developing a new strategy. In this context, the paper aims at bringing the insight of business strategy into the field of heritage conservation.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the conservation and contemporary management of three nineteenth‐century shopping passages: the Galleries Saint‐Hubert in Brussels, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan and the Passage in The Hague. The submission of the Galleries Saint‐Hubert to the World Heritage Tentative List in 2008, presents a unique opportunity for studying this typology in its contemporary environment.

The authors’ research questions are: what are the characteristics of passages? what are their authentic values? and how can the authenticity of these buildings be conserved by their contemporary management? The applied methodology is a cross‐case‐comparison, based on the definition of authenticity as presented in the Nara Document on Authenticity. The analysis is presented in the form of a matrix.

The findings show that the significant value of passages does not only include the architecture of the building but also the versatility of its program and its present urban role. It is only by conserving this combination that these buildings can be conserved in their full richness of authenticity.

Criteria for transnational inclusion in the World Heritage List of several nineteenth‐century passages are suggested as the matrix used for cross‐case‐comparison may be applied to analyse other case studies of passages, as well as for other types of heritage where authenticity of the site is threatened by uncontrolled retail development.

Although passages have been studied extensively within the field of architectural history, retail history and socio‐cultural studies, hardly any previous research had focused on the preservation and contemporary management of this building type.

This study explores the potential of cultural heritage product in the promotion of Kenya's tourism. The Ministry of Tourism Strategic Plan 2008–2012 identified the untapped tourism potential in the areas of eco-tourism, culture, conference and cruise as an opportunity for the future of Kenya's tourism. The report isolated inadequate development of the cultural product as a major weakness in Kenya's tourism. Invention in the cultural heritage tourism product (CHTP) would ease overdependence on beach and wildlife tourism for sustainability and leverage Tourist Destination Kenya's (TDK) competitiveness. This can only be achieved if a blueprint for heritage conservation and tourism is developed and implemented. To achieve its objective, this study employed observation, in-depth interviews and a review of secondary data to investigate current CHTP practices. The research was extended to cultural and heritage site visits. The sites were selected in a non-probabilistic manner based on their cultural significance. The study established that Kenya has a rich CHTP which has not been fully exploited for the purpose of tourism. It observed that the promotion of cultural heritage tourism in Kenya is weakened by lack of proper policies and poor perception of culture as a tourism product. It concluded that cultural tourism has the potential to withstand the ravages of COVID-19 due to its structure and nostalgic characteristics. This study recommends a policy framework heralding effective CHTP management and a post-COVID-19 recovery program marked by new protocols. The study is novel in its methodology, choice of sites and COVID-19 reality.

Many of the heritage adaptive reuse projects in Islamic Cairo did not report success. Existing evaluations are usually drawn from a singular perspective – such as preservation and sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to generate a comprehensive assessment framework of adaptively reused heritage buildings that is specifically developed for the case of Islamic heritage of Cairo.

This paper depends on an extensive literature review about primary goals of adapting heritage for reuse. Related to each goal, multiple criteria of assessment are derived from literature, and then explained to mention worldwide benchmarks in that field.

A successful heritage adaptation project shall aim to achieve: building preservation, success of new function, and local community development. The framework is able to organize the adaptive reuse literature in general, and to specifically provide direct goals and guidelines in the case of Cairo.

In research and practice, priorities of heritage reuse vary from case-to case; however, this paper considers all assessment criteria to be of equal importance.

In order to apply and technically develop this assessment framework, future research can describe methodologies for assessment and to set optimum quantitative and/or qualitative indicators’ thresholds for each criterion.

This paper highlights that new uses of heritage buildings should be assessed for having a role in the upgrading the socio-economic milieu of the people living. The new functions shall act as a stimulant for economic upraising and social reinforcement for the local business and small traditional industries.

The framework can be used as a checklist in either the planning of adaptive reuse projects or the evaluation of already completed ones. The framework shall assist governmental institutions, developers, owners, community groups, practitioners, and others in bringing forward successful adaptation schemes in Cairo.