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This paper is based on a presentation given at the international World Heritage expert meeting on criterion (vi) held in Warsaw, Poland, in March 2012. Results were updated and adapted to scientific standards. The purpose of this paper is to understand the associative dimension in World Heritage by looking at the evolution and application of criterion (vi).

For this paper, historical and qualitative approaches were combined. An understanding of the evolution of the criterion (vi) wording was gained through historical analysis and the consultation of relevant World Heritage statutory documents. A selected number of criterion (vi) statements were analyzed in qualitative terms. Results were then discussed in relation to the evolution of criterion (vi) wording and the understanding of pertinent World Heritage concepts.

Criterion (vi) holds a special position. It addresses an associative dimension of cultural World Heritage sites. Due to its special character, its wording was subject to several changes. While its wording became ever more flexible, this development has not fostered the inscription of exceptional cases or the equal use of cultural associations. An inconsistent interpretation has also weakened the concept of Outstanding Universal Value.

Only inscriptions were taken into consideration. They usually have a World Heritage Committee approved criterion (vi) statement. Limitations to this research result from this restriction.

The paper represents a comprehensive study of the application and interpretation of criterion (vi) that combines the understanding of the evolution of the criterion’s wording with the analysis of a large number of World Heritage inscriptions. It is of interest to the World Heritage community and contributes to the World Heritage discourse.

A vital testimony of human presence landscape is recognised and protected by international, national and local documents as an identity resource and one of the factors that contribute to the identity building processes (UNESCO, 1994; European Landscape Convention, 2000). The validation of landscape as cultural heritage presents not only new challenges but also opportunities for the heritage sector. In fact, a landscape plays a dual role: as part of the cultural heritage, which has to be preserved for its values, and as a “living” site, where individuals and groups live and work. This implies that the acknowledgement of its cultural significance should not be exclusively determined on the basis of discipline-driven frameworks and benchmarks but should rather be the result of a shared awareness within local communities.

Through the analysis of the vineyard landscape of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato (Italy), the author discusses how the selection of a World Heritage site driven by “outstanding universal values” risks presenting a top-down approach to heritage processes.

In this article, the author explores how people living in this cultural landscape articulate their understandings of heritage values, and she addresses issues concerning their participation in decision-making processes, questioning whose values and meanings do the “outstanding universal value” legitimise or not.

What the author argues is that the World Heritage listing's focus on extraordinary values risks constructing heritage around a consensus that privileges only some actors, whose voices and stories enliven the prestige of the wine production of this cultural landscape, omitting other values, memories and practices from the identity and meaning making processes. Does the identification and representation processes validated through World Heritage status capture how a landscape is understood by individuals and groups living within it? If not, how do these differences affect people's engagement? A further point of discussion is whether individuals and groups want to be engaged in decision-making processes and on which terms.

Having more than 1,000 sites on the World Heritage List raises questions regarding what world heritage means. The re-evaluation of heritage sites within the USA will be conducted as a case study, where similar issues of historical designation has taken place. Within recent decades there has emerged a policy of revisiting designations that occurred prior to 1990, when the nomination process was less rigorous. These re-evaluations do not necessarily remove the property from heritage designation, but the process has been valuable from a qualitative standpoint because a better understanding of significance has been achieved. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Within recent decades there has emerged a policy of revisiting designations that occurred prior to 1990 in the USA, when the nomination process was less rigorous. Should a similar approach or policy be made to the properties placed on the World Heritage List during the first decades, since the expectations for demonstrating outstanding universal value have since increased? The result could be that we end up with a more robust World Heritage List that provides a better definition of what the common heritage of humanity is.

The way we approach and conceptualize World Heritage needs to evolve accordingly, considering how much it has evolved since the Convention in 1972. The experiences of re-evaluating historic places in the USA since the 1990s has much to offer.

Only the perspective of the USA is given, as a case study. Contributions from practitioners in other countries experienced in heritage site re-evaluation best practices would be meaningful.

Re-evaluating World Heritage Sites is something to consider as a management prospect for places on or under consideration for the World Heritage List since it could bring a more comprehensive understanding of outstanding universal value. This type of re-evaluation may help in addressing the meaning of place(s), contextualization of multiple locations of common heritage, and the political elitism of the World Heritage List, where some countries are over represented due to sites listed through a less-experienced process from earlier decades.

Revisiting the World Heritage List in respect to policy and the meaning of world heritage may be in order. For example, should every nation be entitled to list at least one property to the list regardless of its heritage value?

Since the 1970s, coinciding with the establishment of the World Heritage List through the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, the USA has dealt with dynamic and complex logistical problems regarding the recognition and interpretation of its cultural heritage.

The purpose of this paper is to survey the sustainability of management practices followed by local authorities, and their impact on the preservation of World Heritage cities, taking the Old City of Salamanca as a case study.

After a brief introduction to the difficult role of World Heritage properties in the sustainable development of cities, the main concerns of their management practices are presented. The paper then surveys the Old City of Salamanca: before, during and after nomination, using the Auditorium project as an illustration of the threat of new development to the outstanding universal value and the difficulty in regulating it. Finally, the paper discusses the risks of inefficient management practices of such properties.

This survey revealed the inexistence of any management practices uniformly followed by local authorities for the preservation of the Old City of Salamanca. As a result, new urban developments risk destroying the property's outstanding universal value.

This paper discusses the evidence that can help local authorities of the Old City of Salamanca to understand the impact of poor management practices on their World Heritage property. This should also be informative and helpful to local authorities from other World Heritage sites which are dealing with similar situations.

This survey contributes to the expert area of sustainable development and urban heritage preservation that is demanding attention from both academia and practice.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the emergence of the concept of outstanding universal value and its application from the ancient to modern times culminating with its codification under the auspices of UNESCO in 1972.

The nearly four decades‐long application of UNESCO's World Heritage Convention offers a solid basis for a critical reflection regarding past achievements and future challenges. An entire review of this being beyond the scope of a single paper, it focuses on only a few salient issues which illustrate how this unique international legal instrument evolved in the past 39 years.

The paper singles out for each of the four stages at least one emblematic and most threatened World Heritage property, in order to illustrate major legal issues and how these were addressed by the parties.

As Secretary of the World Heritage Committee as well as Founder Director of the World Heritage Centre viewpoints the author presents that constitute a direct and continuous observation of World Heritage related matters over the last four decades.

This paper aims to study possible differences between the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) defined in the designation of Cuenca as a World Heritage (WH) site and its inhabitants' perceptions of heritage value. The study is based on research conducted in the historic centre of Cuenca in Ecuador, which was accorded WH status in 1999.

The research employs both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, providing a complementary approach to the research subject. Quantitative research involved a probability survey of 400 informants randomly selected from the population of the canton of Cuenca, while qualitative research included 40 semi-structured interviews with residents and traders in the historic centre and 150 further written consultations with residents of the city.

Following the introduction, methodology and description, the paper presents the data gathered from the survey and interviews. These indicate inhabitants' perceptions of the meaning, values, and uses of WH in Cuenca and reveal differences between their perceptions and those of the official OUV.

Although there are several studies on WH residents' perceptions of UNESCO OUV, few highlight the mismatch between local community views of heritage and those established by UNESCO. This study reflects critically on the concept of OUV, which is based on technical and political criteria rather than social participation. The study employs methodologies that could be applied in other case studies and used to improve heritage management. This is the only study on local perceptions of Cuenca's OUV.

The purpose of this paper is to outline and reflect on the new research agenda for the Great Zimbabwe World Heritage property. This research agenda was jointly developed by academics and practitioners from Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) and the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) respectively. This Research-Practice Team was put together for the Heritage Place Lab (HPL), a pilot project of the ICCROM-IUCN World Heritage Leadership programme.

A series of steps were undertaken to come up with research priorities and a new research agenda that are presented in this paper. The HPL project involved online workshops, due to the COVID-19 travel restrictions, that were held between September 2021 and April 2022. The HPL methodology involved six assignments that were based on the Enhancing Our Heritage Toolkit 2.0 (EOH) which was being designed by UNESCO and its Advisory Bodies. This toolkit encouraged the team to establish site-specific management issues and research needs. The toolkit helped the team to have a detailed appreciation of the site's Outstanding Universal Value as well as other heritage values of national and local importance. The toolkit also involved the mapping of site attributes and multiple actors as well as the analysis of governance and legal frameworks. The toolkit also required the team to identify factors affecting the heritage property.

The Research-Practice Team highlighted challenges that resulted from the legacy of ill-informed research activities and conservation efforts at the World Heritage property. It became more apparent that the site managers were prioritizing the physical fabric of the site at the expense of the spiritual aspects. Lack of coordination among the actors was also undermining the governance structure. Four thematic strands which included local values and intangible cultural heritage elements; heritage governance; climate change and environmental sustainability and incorporation of local knowledge systems were identified for further research.

The paper is an outcome of collaborative efforts that were done by academics and practitioners. Researchers and site managers at Great Zimbabwe had hitherto worked in silos. The majority of previous and ongoing research on the World Heritage property falls short of addressing the dire management challenges. The paper is an attempt to broaden the scope in terms of the management of the site. In the past focus has been on the monumental aspects of the site with specific reference to the dry-stone walled structures. However, in this instance, the Research-Practice Team has integrated new interests such as the intangible aspects of Great Zimbabwe, spirituality and community beneficiation.

This paper presents participants' experiences of the collaborative process. The paper introduces the World Heritage Site and presents the central learning outcomes of a process through which researchers and practitioners sought to develop an empirically-grounded, site-specific and practice-led research agenda relevant to World Heritage management. The purpose of this paper is to discuss an approach to improving collaboration between researchers and practitioners in the World Heritage field.

From September 2021 to April 2022, a research-practice team comprised of social scientists and managers of the Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site in Norway participated in a capacity-building pilot initiative under the ICCROM-IUCN World Heritage Leadership programme. Bringing researchers and practitioners together in a joint collaborative process, the Heritage Place Lab (HPL) pilot programme aimed to function as an incubator for developing research agendas for World Heritage Sites.

The paper demonstrates that close collaboration between heritage researchers and practitioners can benefit World Heritage Sites, offering managers valuable inputs for informed and inclusive decision-making. In the case of the Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site, an improved understanding of the diversities in local values would benefit management, as existing management issues underpin the site's complexity. Furthermore, fruitful collaborations between heritage researchers and World Heritage managers depend on an overlapping and reflexive understanding of central concepts. This can be achieved through collaborative research-practice processes but is likely to require careful time management.

Focussing on the collaborative process between World Heritage researchers and practitioners, and using additional information for comparable World Heritage examples obtained online, this paper shows how research interests and management challenges can be developed and aligned more successfully through cooperation and improved communication over time. Beyond the specific results for the Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site, the broader discussion presented on the challenges and importance of addressing the complexities of managing heritage sites will be valuable for other World Heritage Sites and managers.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of beneficial externality generated by the World Heritage List (WHL) on residential property values in order to offer new insights into heritage discourses.

The study uses the hedonic price model to estimate empirically the difference in prices for residential properties located in the Old Rauma World Heritage. The study uses residential sales transaction data from the City of Rauma from January 2005 to September 2012 drawn from an online database called KVKL Hintaseurantapalvelu managed by the Central Federation of Finnish Real Estate Agencies.

The research results indicate a positive, but insignificant, relationship between the property sale prices (euros/sqm) and heritage designation. However, the total sale prices are higher in Old Rauma as the properties are significantly larger in Old Rauma compared to other properties in Rauma.

Studies in heritage economics have assessed the influence of the property market on heritage listing and designation at either the national level, the local level or a mix of national/local levels. This paper contributes to the literature by analysing the impact of a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) world heritage designation on residential property values. UNESCO is the leading global institution which deals with the protection of heritage sites that transcend national and local boundaries.

This paper introduces a methodology to identify, analyse and represent heritage site attributes, emphasizing their impact on value, authenticity, integrity and management, with a case study on Ghadames, Libya. Inscribed in 1986 and moved to the In-Danger List in 2016 due to conflict, this work seeks to update the site's attributes and values for improved management.

This methodology, focusing on Ghadames, leverages recent heritage management advancements to monitor conflict-induced changes, aiming to enhance decision-making through a detailed analysis of the site's natural and cultural attributes.

Our findings highlight the need for systematic and holistic assessments of heritage site attributes and values, crucial for managing sites of both local and global significance. This approach is a key to understanding their identity, guiding interpretation, management and preserving cultural significance.

Developed for Ghadames, the methodology requires adaptation for other sites, underscoring the importance of identifying core tangible and intangible attributes that define a site's uniqueness.

Our developed methodology offers a replicable framework that can be modified by local heritage professionals to map attributes and assess the direct and indirect impact of conflict on heritage sites.

The detailed assessment provides a foundation for crafting informed policies and effective management strategies. It specifically targets minimizing the adverse effects of conflict on heritage sites' attributes. This effort is instrumental in preparing the necessary documentation to support the delisting of these sites from the UNESCO World Heritage Site In-Danger List, promoting their preservation and recovery.