Search results

The purpose of this paper is to presents a conceptual framework for a value-based monitoring system that serves as the core element for heritage conservation planning of World Heritage Sites. It reports on the early stage of heritage management research within the PRECOM3OS framework, in collaboration with the University of Leuven in Belgium and the Universidad de Cuenca in Ecuador. A new management concept was developed throughout a five-year interdisciplinary and multi-actor growth process within an international setting.

The application of the preventive conservation approach to world heritage management places the concepts of authenticity and integrity at the core of the heritage monitoring system. Moreover, the monitoring system is converted into a decision support tool for intervention and maintenance planning, beyond the mere purpose of inventorying or generating alerts.

The regular update of information for condition, risks and value assessment strengths and support strategic heritage planning. The conceptual information system developed is based on an inventory system and updated through monitoring. Therefore, planners are supplied with a tool for alternative scenarios, potential prioritization of intervention, options for preventive conservation and multi-criteria support for strategic planning over time.

The monitoring system is not fully implemented in the World Heritage Site of Cuenca; however, a generic model is put forward, developed to generate a planning tool that can be applied for different heritage sites.

More specific, the integration of two concepts: the value assessment and monitoring from a preventive conservation perspective is considered an innovative contribution to the development of decision-making systems in the broader urban planning context of historic cities.

Urban heritage areas are under significant pressure as a result of increasing populations and significant visitor growth. The growth in visitor numbers is of particular concern as this is leading to the phenomenon of overtourism. In Asia, although the issue of overtourism requires immediate attention in order to avoid the loss of tangible and intangible heritage, many of those responsible for managing urban heritage areas lack the skills and competencies to prevent it or mitigate its effects. The purpose of this paper is to present an exploratory competency framework for managing urban heritage areas sustainably, for thereby preventing and/or mitigating overtourism.

In developing this framework, the authors examined how the context needs to change in order to implement sustainable urban heritage management, and they identified the particular competencies and associated skills and knowledge that are required of the stakeholders responsible for urban heritage areas to manage, prevent and/or mitigate overtourism. This analysis was based on a series of case studies examining the planning and management of urban heritage areas in Asia.

It was found that meeting three key objectives was essential in improving the competencies of stakeholder heritage area planners and developers as it relates to overtourism: integrated team approach, a mindset change on the part of key stakeholders and a common vision guiding the development process.

It was found that in order for urban heritage managers to sustainably manage the heritage under their responsibility and prevent and/or mitigate overtourism, a fundamental shift in mindset is required on the part of key stakeholders, moving away from a “silo” approach and towards an integrated approach to urban heritage management, in which the team leaders and management teams have an interdisciplinary set of competencies and are supported in the planning and management process by subject/discipline specialists. The authors found that the set of competencies that are required by heritage management teams lie at the intersection of the four key areas of policy and planning intervention in urban heritage areas, which are: community economic development, urban planning and design, urban heritage area planning, and tourism planning and management. The competencies can be categorized under three headings: interdisciplinary perspective, soft management competencies and technical competencies.

This paper was developed based on the authors’ experience in planning and tourism initiatives throughout Asia and on a long history of urban heritage tourism and planning work around the world. Most of the discussion focusses on how urban destinations can prevent and/or address the issues associated with overtourism by enhancing the competencies of the teams and practitioners who are responsible for managing urban heritage areas.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the papers selected for the present special issue on planning and heritage. This paper aims at advancing knowledge about the variety of uses and meanings of planning tools and practices in the cultural heritage field, by bridging disciplines and by building on evidence from the studies composing the special issue.

After a review of the debate on planning in management studies, the paper briefly outlines the features of the five selected papers and it reconstructs a composite narrative on planning in cultural heritage, as it emerges from the collected papers taken together.

In the fields of both management and urban studies a similar trajectory of “rise and fall” of rationalistic views of planning has taken place. Today's discourse of planning in urban studies is strongly dominated by the issue of inclusiveness and participation. When looking at “who” really participates in these processes, it is clear that a vast array of public and private actors is involved, at least formally. When looking at “how” they are involved, a variety of possible approaches to participative planning are in use, from more formal, to more informal and emergent ones. Whether these participative forms of planning in cultural heritage actually “work” remains in part an open question.

Despite the increasing centrality of plans and planning in cultural heritage management, an investigation about the state-of-the-art of the debate on planning in this field and an exploration of how planning is done in practice are missing.

With specific focus on sustainable development of the built environment in Cape Coast, Ghana, the purpose of this paper is to examine practical and conceptual barriers for local planning authorities advancing international outreach programmes based on a global discourse on heritage and heritage management.

A discourse analysis was conducted on documents and programmes produced by international organisations and local planning authorities since 2000. Further qualitative data collection methods included 25 semi-structured interviews, literature and media review and on-site observations.

The study shows that the dominant global discourse on heritage management being interconnected with tourism development is adopted by local planning authorities. However, the requirements to advance initiated urban redevelopment projects are neither adapted to the economic realities nor institutional capabilities of the local planning system. Instead of adjusting specific Ghanaian notions of heritage or local forms of heritage organisations, negotiating the discourse is potentially a more sustainable approach.

The findings reveal important implications necessary to address from sustainable development perspective. The study can help practitioners to develop strategies based on local African planning contexts rather than western discourses on best practice.

This study discusses the impact of an Authorised Heritage Discourse on local planning of the built environment, and the need to rescale and broaden the scope of such discourses to other levels than the dominating national/global.

The purpose of this paper is to examine a pilot in a national R&D programme in Norway (2007-2010) to join the ongoing discussion on the different meanings and uses of planning tools and approaches in cultural heritage across various disciplines. The study aimed to reveal how patterns of collaborative planning processes unfold in a complex cultural heritage setting, the key challenges, dilemmas and tensions in the different phases of the process and implications for future research and policy.

Longitudinal explorative dialogic action research was undertaken to investigate and capture the evolution of knowledge-creating processes. The qualitative data collection methods included 25 semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews, participatory observation and text and document analysis.

Experiential R&D activities can bridge and transcend the context-specific tensions that separate the involved actors and their activities. Furthermore, a pro-active cultural heritage authority is required at the national level to maintain supportive links to the local level, and it is necessary to manage and prevent potential opportunistic action from negatively affecting cultural heritage sites and processes.

The single case study approach makes generalising beyond the current study difficult. However, the findings raise relevant issues for further research on the management of cultural heritage policy from a sustainable development perspective.

This paper identifies the need to study the evolving processes of linking cultural heritage, sustainable development and collaborative planning, as well as the dynamic relationship between the national, regional and local levels of heritage management.

The purpose of this papter is to examine the role heritage considerations have played in the transformation of industrial areas in three Norwegian cities, Oslo, Drammen and Larvik. The location, scale and rough appearance of industrial sites stemming from the industrial era makes these places locations for new cultural and other recreational activities made possible through architectonic interventions.

A comparative case study based on examinations of a series of plans, site investigations and interviews with planners, developers, architects and heritage managers.

The study has revealed that private-public partnerships today prevail parts of Norwegian planning. The role and strength of the state, the municipality, the private developers and the heritage management as partners varies, however. While the state as well as the heritage management played an essential role in all stages in the development process in Oslo, the private developers and the public planners were the main instigators both in Drammen and Larvik, where the heritage managers played a subsidiary role. Although largely transformed, selected parts of the old industrial heritage sites have been taken care of as a result, and new architectural contexts have arisen.

While actual planning processes have been led by private investors and real estate developers, the case study has shown that participation from the public sector via funding is vital to ensure long-term solutions. The results can be of service in similar cases where large industrial plants are left empty while slowly disintegrating.

Ireland's Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 established the requirement for a National Adaptation Framework (NAF) composed of nine sectoral plans, of which Built and Archaeological Heritage is one. All the plans were written according to the six-step process outlined in Sectoral Planning Guidelines for Climate Change Adaptation produced by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE, 2018) which is also the government department charged with coordinating the NAF. This article will summarise the application of the methodology to heritage resources in Ireland, the issues encountered and the results achieved.

The plan was informed by existing research and incorporated expert, stakeholder and public consultation throughout the process. It also closely considered published plans from other sectors in order to aid consistency within the NAF and to ensure cross-cutting issues were highlighted.

Of the many potential impacts of climate change, those identified as priorities for adaptation planning in Ireland were flooding (inland and coastal), storm damage, coastal erosion, soil movement (landslip or erosion), changing burial preservation conditions, pests and mould, wildfires and maladaptation. Goals, objectives and an action plan were developed commensurate with the five-year term of the plan, but also initiating a long-term strategic vision. A monitoring strategy was developed to monitor progress, identify problems and inform improvements to the adaptation plan as part of an iterative process.

Much work is being done on the topic of climate change and cultural heritage, yet at the time of writing Ireland is believed to be the only country to have adopted a national adaptation plan for cultural heritage.

The purpose of this paper is to argue the many ways in which the conservation and revitalisation processes in Novara carried out over several decades are representative not only of the Italian approach to urban conservation but also of the fruitful relationship between institutional and social bodies.

Through an exploratory study approach, this paper illustrates how social actors contributed to the conservation process of Novara Old Town, and documents the regeneration of two historic complexes, the Castle of Novara and Casa Bossi. To do so, it drew upon content analyses of the official reports and planning tools and a set of semi-structured interviews conducted with the representatives of the community organisations and the Municipal Planning Board.

The study demonstrates the effectiveness of a third actor whose double role entails cooperation and conflict. The participatory approach applied in these two heritage complexes has proved to be cost-effective because it is inherently able to effect “planning in the public domain” and address socially sustainable outcomes.

The Italian approach to the conservation of historic cities has been widely acknowledged as a “good recipe” in the international context. However, little attention has been paid to how this success story depends on a unique relationship between public bodies and local communities. To fill this gap, the paper shed light on the historic centre of Novara and two particular heritage complexes in terms of the relations of different actors in conservation and regeneration processes.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that there was a non-Eurocentric approach being attempted at Borobudur in the 1970s and 1980s. From the case of Borobudur, this research aims to provide lessons for better management practices by clarifying the development of the buffer zone concept and its potential impact on communities.

The paper will examine an empirical literature study using topographic maps, contracts between Governments of Indonesia and Japan, documents concerning the Park Project and local newspapers as well as a sequence of one-to-one and group interviews with the key persons who were involved in the Park Project including villagers at Borobudur.

The development of the Borobudur Archaeological Park began in 1979 and marks an important shift in thinking about buffer zones from a monument-centric approach to the consideration of the wider context and approaches to community participation in the context of international heritage management.

There has not yet been a detailed study concerning the progression of the Borobudur Park establishment and implementation of the buffer zone concept per se, and its impact on local community members. Furthermore, crucial management planning documents for the establishment of the Borobudur Archaeological Park have yet to be analysed by scholars. One of the documents is entitled the Updated Former Plans and Schematic Design for Borobudur and Prambanan National Archaeological Parks Project (Updated Plan). The Updated Plan is in principle not disclosed to the public and can only be viewed with permission of the Indonesian authorities thereby lessening opportunities for research to be undertaken on how the Japan International Cooperation Agency Master Plan was modified and the Park Project was executed in the 1970s and 1980s. The author opportunely received permission to access to the Updated Plan by the authorities on 23 November 2012, which made this study possible to pursue.

Planning for Jaipur City in Rajasthan, north-western India, which was added to the World Heritage List in 2019, considers the surrounding hills and water systems. Rapid urbanisation is currently placing strain on the area, and natural resources and city green spaces are deteriorating. A multidisciplinary team of academicians, researchers and practitioners was assembled under the Heritage Place Lab (HPL) initiative with the aim of developing a research agenda to complement the city's Special Area Heritage Plan (SAHP) that is currently in development.

Given the complicated urban structure of Jaipur, an interdisciplinary approach involving experts from various fields and engagement from all levels of the city's stakeholders was necessary. The partnership proceeded following the parameters provided under the HPL to jointly build a research agenda focussing on the management challenges of the World Heritage Site.

The co-produced research programme narrowed its initial emphasis on documenting of the natural heritage of the city to reflect the functions it served in a social setting. It was also revealed that the conflicting nature of activities within the World Heritage Site is caused by overlapping jurisdictions of several administrative and legislative components.

Jaipur, examined here by an interdisciplinary Research-Practice Team, provides a valuable and unique case study for heritage management, particularly given that most historic cities in India are facing comparable concerns surrounding urbanisation with rising pressures on natural resources.