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The objective of this paper is mainly to contribute to and activate, the process of saving and preserving the rich tangible and intangible heritage embraced in the historic center of Al-Najaf city. This was possible through examining the existing historic urban and architectural structures of the city, unveiling the major issues that are threatening both its traditional cultural and architectural identity, and finally analyzing similar examples that proved to be successful in addressing similar problems in order to derive possible strategies for saving, preserving and revitalizing the historical center of Al-Najaf Old City.

This paper addresses the major problems of heritage preservation in Al-Najaf City (750 AD), which is one of the historical and most sacred religious centers especially for Shia Muslims around the world. Despite its importance, the rich cultural and architectural heritage of the city is dramatically neglected and seriously threatened to be lost.

Preservation in Al-Najaf City is proposed as a sustainable development strategy. Top-down and bottom-up strategies are proposed not only for preserving the historic architectural and urban characteristics of the city but also for reviving its social and cultural activities and traditions.

The major issues addressed in this paper include the fragmentation and decentralization of the cohesive traditional urban fabric, the disruption of the spatial organization, the deformation of the traditional architectural characteristics of the city and its skyline, the discontinuity of facades' patterns, the destruction and demolition of historical buildings, the transformation of land use, and the regression of traditional social and cultural activities.

Covent Garden and Les Halles have three things in common: In the sixties they were both dominated by busy wholesale markets, by the seventies the produce markets had moved out, and by 1980 both sites had been transformed, but in very different ways. Stephen Wood compares the development of these two exciting ventures in a paper presented to the PTRC Summer Annual Meeting at Warwick.

The Royal Opera House, located at the epicentre of Covent Garden, stands as the UK’s leading provider of opera and ballet performances. Having been extensively redeveloped, its front facade is not visible from the area’s central market place and the perceived exclusivity and elitism commonly associated with its art forms also impose a challenge. This study aims to analyze the influence that the Opera House exerts on the tourist’s perception and experience of the world-renowned London’s “Theatreland”.

In all, three hundred and six semi-structured interviews with domestic, international, first-time and repeat tourists were conducted in six different locations throughout the area and inside the flagship building using a convenience sampling approach. These were then analyzed with the assistance of qualitative data analysis software (QSR N*Vivo) in two stages leading to an initial set of categorical topics that derived in a number of findings related to the factors that influence the tourist’s perception and experience of place.

The Opera House’s perceived urban concealment proved to have an impact on its influence on Covent Garden’s sense of place. But its social inclusion and audience development initiatives that foster a new generation of opera and ballet theatre-goers emerged as important findings as the House’s open door policy for daytime visitors along with live relays of current opera and ballet productions in other locations spark an interest in experiencing the building from the inside.

This paper focuses exclusively on findings related to audience development and social inclusion initiatives currently used at the Royal Opera House and their impact on the tourist’s perception and experience of place. However, many other factors influence these processes and scope for further research is highlighted.

The Royal Opera House’s perceived urban concealment imposes a challenge to the task of developing new audiences for its current and future productions. Its learning and participation unit must endeavor to engage younger and international markets by focusing on the quality of the House’s performances, its heritage and added facilities of the venue such as exhibitions and shop.

The Royal Opera House’s creed of “excellence, access and artistic development” is implemented by extending opportunities to younger target markets to engage with its cultural produce.

This paper addresses the gap in knowledge related to the development of the niche Opera House tourist segment of the cultural tourism market.

This paper aims to examine the third-place phenomenon, within a fashion context, through the theoretical lens of servicescape and experiential retailing. It identifies third places’ typologies, evolution and adoption and explores the opportunities third places offer to retailers when attempting to connect better with consumers.

Taking a qualitative approach, research was conducted using secondary data sources, observation of 98 retail stores and the shopping-with-consumers technique with 42 informants. Manual thematic analysis and magnitude coding was conducted.

Third-place fashion practices are prevalent and growing. Their predominant functions include sociability, experiential, restorative and commercial. Variances inherent in third places are expounded and a third-place-dimensions model is proposed.

Due to the chosen research approach, the results are limited in terms of generalizability to other settings. Several research directions are elucidated, including exploration of fashion third places on consumers’ place attachment within specific sectors; the impact of differing age, gender and geographies on third place meaning; virtual and hybrid forms; retailer motivations; and third-place alliances.

The preliminary study serves to support managers to understand how consumers perceive and experience the fashion third place and the potential of the third place to enhance consumer engagement.

The research makes a valuable contribution to the dearth of extant literature on third place within the fashion field. It offers a new theoretical perspective on form, function and benefits of third places as a conduit of social-, experiential-, and commercial-experience consumption.

The third part of the “small urban species” series looks at residential squares. Considers the historical back‐ground of residential squares, the growth of the urban garden and pleasure grounds.

Several years ago, while grubbing in an antiquarian bookseller's basement, I came across a slim little volume in half morocco, lettered up the back Les Mutinées Royales—1863. The title conveyed nothing to me then, but the shabby elegance of the binding prompted me to pull it from the shelf, and for once my zeal was rewarded. First of all there was, within the front board, the bookplate of James Maidment, a notable Scottish bookman, the friend of Scott, and the father of a long series of curious little reprints and literary oddities. On the flyleaf was a note in his handwriting regarding the book; while before the title‐page there was exposed to my delighted gaze a collection of autograph letters from the publisher, Frederic Norgate, dating from the years 1865 and 1866. The title‐page itself read, Les Matinées Royales, ou L'Art de Regner. Opuscule Inédit de Frederic II. Dit Le Grand, Roi de Prusse. The publishers were Williams and Norgate, of Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, and the volume saw the light, as I'd already gathered, in 1863. On all counts, I decided, this was a volume worth having, I carried it upstairs to the comparatively pure air of the outer shop, feigned indifference as to my interest in it, and nailed it for, as far as I can recall, just half a crown. I hurried home, to gloat, perchance to read. The letters I transcribed without delay; the book itself I glanced through hastily, reserving it for future leisure. Before that came, sad to say, I was in the Army, and it is only within the past few weeks that my thoughts have kept turning to the dicta of the Prussian, a train of thought set in motion, no doubt, by a reading of Froude's Carlyle.

The office of the literary paper that gave me my first job in London was hidden away in a Victorian building near Covent Garden market. You mounted a flight of Dickensian stairs and off a dark little landing were three or four small rooms. I occupied a corner of one of them, close to a black fireplace from which smoke eddied on stormy days. The single window faced east, and the sun never came through its dusty panes, even at the height of summer. In my recollections of that room the season is always winter, and the time most often late afternoon, with a fire glowing in the ugly barred grate. Such offices still exist no doubt, but there cannot be many of them left. Literary journalists to‐day are likely to work in centrally heated rooms with walls that are all window. They do not climb stairs; they use “elevators.” Progress, progress; yet I sometimes wonder if they write any better than we did in the thirties, which now seem to belong to a vanished epoch. Certainly they fill far fewer columns.

IN accordance with our promise, we have collected a few notes concerning the new boroughs to be formed next year out of the existing London parishes, which will perhaps be found useful by those who have written to us for information. The Commissioners under the Act will, we are informed, commence their local enquiries in October, and the particulars given in the accompanying table and map will enable provincial librarians to follow the course of the inquest with comparative ease. The map shows in a rough manner the position of the library movement in London at the present moment, the shaded portion representing boroughs or parts of boroughs which have provided libraries, the unshaded areas representing boroughs or old parishes which have not yet adopted the Acts. We do not propose to consider the working of the London Government Act, save as regards its effect upon public libraries. At present 39 parishes or districts (including Penge, South Hornsey, and St. Paul's, Covent Garden) have adopted the Acts, and of these thirty‐four have established libraries and appointed librarians. As the new Act establishes twenty‐eight boroughs (excluding Penge and the City), and some of these contain several of the old areas which already have libraries, it follows that the Library Authorities will have to be considerably reduced. Our tables show this at a glance. Instead of thirty‐nine Library Authorities, there will only be twenty required ; consequently some great changes may be expected. It appears from the Act (Sections 16 [d] and 29 [4] ) that the settlement of the provisions affecting libraries and the transference of officers will form part of the scheme to be prepared by the Commissioners. Thus it is possible that a scheme may determine whether or not the libraries are to be extended over the whole of a borough only partially provided, and how many responsible officers are to be appointed in each department. It does not follow that the Commissioners will appoint any officer, but it appears that they must fix the number of officers, leaving the Borough Councils to make appointments and settle compensation. Numerous guesses have been made as to what will happen to the libraries. Some are of opinion that the existing arrangements will not be disturbed, and that the libraries will be carried on by their present staff, directed by a district sub‐committee, responsible to the Library Committee of the Council. Others think that all officers will be treated alike, and that one responsible head will be appointed for each department, as in all municipal boroughs, the others to be compensated as provided by the Act. Should this latter plan be adopted, the number of public librarians in London will be reduced from thirty‐four to twenty, and thus at least fourteen librarians will have to face the somewhat serious position of loss of office. The compensation will, to some extent, no doubt, remedy the evil, but even a liberal provision of this kind will scarcely be a salve for the absolute loss of a congenial occupation. Of course, it has to be remembered that most of the Vestry Clerks, for certain, and, in all likelihood, many of the Medical Officers and Surveyors in affected boroughs, will be similarly dealt with, so that a vast amount of disturbance among London municipal officers will be one of the immediate consequences of the Act. It is not for us to forecast the decisions of the Commissioners : these will be for future consideration. But it is quite evident that they have a very difficult task before them. We shall report from time to time the progress of the enquiries, as very great interest is being manifested in the impending changes by librarians in London and all over the country.

Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).