Linking Theory with Practice: Assessing the Integration of a 21st Century Approach to Urban Heritage Conservation, Management and Development in the World Heritage Cities of Florence and Edinburgh

Reconciling heritage conservation and development within the management of historic urban environments is recognised as one of the most challenging issues in the field of heritage conservation and urban management by academics and practioners. Existing urban heritage conservation policies, regulatory frameworks and tools operating around the world proved to be inadequate or insufficient in regulating urban transformations in historic urban environments. The "heritage versus development dilemma" has been a central argument in the 21st international discourse on urban heritage conservation management and development. UNESCO, the United Nations, ICOMOS and the Council of Europe have tried to overcome this persisting dichotomy through the adoption of a series of international texts. The evolution of a 21st century international discourse represents the international recognition that a "new paradigm for urban heritage conservation and management" has gradually taken shape since the beginning of the century. From this moment, urban heritage conservation can be seen as an all-encompassing, integrated urban management strategy, which incorporates the perspectives of urban planning and socio-economic development. The contemporary approach suggests moving beyond existing regulatory and management frameworks, recommending a revision of local practices so that they are consistent with the key principles of the new paradigm. However, there is still a need to carry out further research in order to understand how existing and consolidated urban management systems currently operate. This is a fundamental step towards effectively implementing the new paradigm into local practices. This interdisciplinary study aims to advance knowledge in the field of urban heritage conservation and management through a detailed assessment of the level of consistency of existing policies with the key principles of the 21st century approach. To the knowledge of the author, this is the first comprehensive and comparative assessment of multi-scalar (at national, regional, provincial and local levels) and multi-sectorial (including heritage conservation, urban planning and socio-economic development) urban management policies that has been carried out so far. To conduct this study, an original assessment framework was developed by the author with the objective of providing a qualitative evaluation tool which was able to link the international theory with local practices. The thesis focused on the two World Heritage cities of Florence (Italy) and Edinburgh (UK). It systematically demonstrated how some of the key principles of the new paradigm are already integrated into local urban management policies of these two historic urban environments. The study was first conducted by testing the assessment framework on the two case studies. Subsequently, a critical analysis of the two urban management systems was carried out, integrating the assessment results with data collected through semi-structured interviews with local stakeholders involved in the definition and implementation of the assessed policies. Finally, a comparison of Florence and Edinburgh's approaches to urban heritage conservation, management and development were illustrated and discussed. In this way, it was possible to discuss the strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats of different urban management systems in incorporating a 21st century international approach. Moreover, the study identified existing similarities and discrepancies between different approaches and to highlight good practices and critical aspects. The research findings constitute a step towards understanding whether a revision of existing policies and tools is necessary and how this could be done. The assessment results could be used by national and local governments to revise their current urban management policies according to the contemporary international approach to urban heritage conservation, management and development

Harnessing cultural heritage for sustainable development: an analysis of three internationally funded projects in MENA Countries

The importance of cultural heritage as an enabler of sustainable development is widely acknowledged. However, its role has remained marginalised in past and current international development agendas. This paper provides an original interdisciplinary study interrogating the potential of harnessing cultural heritage (both tangible and intangible) for sustainable development. It also reflects on how international policies and narratives on cultural heritage for development have been implemented on the ground. In particular, it critically examines the contribution of cultural heritage to worldwide developmental issues, with an approach that traverses the three sustainable development dimensions. It investigates how cultural heritage has been used to tackle global challenges, such as poverty alleviation in marginalised groups (economic dimension); gender equality and the empowerment of women (social dimension); and environmental sustainability (environmental dimension). The analysis focuses on three heritage for development projects funded through the ‘Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund’, jointly implemented by UNESCO in partnership with other United Nations organisations and local partners in the Middle East and North Africa between 2008 and 2013. The article sheds light on multifaceted aspects of cultural heritage for sustainable development by discussing key achievements and common pitfalls

Re-Imagining Heritage Tourism in Post-COVID Sub-Saharan Africa: Local Stakeholders’ Perspectives and Future Directions

Tourism strategies implemented all over the world have often been demonstrably far from sustainable. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and its dramatic effects on the tourism sector worldwide present a unique transformative opportunity to reframe tourism in more sustainable ways. This article uses qualitative research methods and ethnography to advance knowledge on the impacts, both positive and negative, of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism and heritage sites, as perceived by local stakeholders living and/or working at six popular heritage destinations in Sub-Saharan Africa, located in Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa. The article discusses ways to rethink heritage-based tourism strategies more sustainably, according to the viewpoint of the research participants, and identifies new emerging tourism opportunities triggered by the pandemic, cutting across different local contexts to highlight more widely generalisable research findings. Identified strategies include diversifying tourism products at heritage sites; improving tourism marketing, visitors’ experience, and infrastructures; fostering more inclusive, co-operative, and integrated tourism and heritage management systems; increasing awareness of local resources while promoting ecotourism and responsible travel; and supporting economic diversification and local entrepreneurship

Managing historic cities under a new paradigm for urban conservation

This paper aims to present the limits of current urban heritage conservation practices and tools to cope with contemporary challenges and pressures affecting historic cities. It shows how, from the beginning of the 21st century, the international debate on urban heritage conservation has tried to reconcile heritage conservation with development building a holistic and integrated approach to urban conservation and management. The Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) Recommendation, adopted by UNESCO in 2011, embodies the key principles of a new paradigm for urban conservation and management. The paper discusses these principles and underlines the limits of its early implementation attempts. Finally, it identifies a research gap in the existing literature and presents the relevance, design and methodology of the PhD research that is currently being conducted by the author. It aims to stimulate the discussion on these topics and to test the research methodology chosen

Handling Change in Historic Urban Landscapes. An Analysis of Urban Heritage Conservation Approaches in Bordeaux (France), Edinburgh (UK), and Florence (Italy)

International audienceStarting from the definitions and principles of the Historic Urban Landscape Recommendation adopted by UNESCO in 2011, this chapter critically reflects on how different urban conservation approaches cope with change in three European World Heritage cities: Bordeaux (France), Florence (Italy), and Edinburgh (UK). By discussing the findings of a comparative analysis of existing urban conservation management policies, legislation, and tools, the chapter sheds light on good practices and critical aspects to support the improvement of urban conservation processes to better handle contemporary challenges in these case studies, but also in other historic urban landscapes in Europe and beyond

Handling Change in Historic Urban Landscapes. An Analysis of Urban Heritage Conservation Approaches in Bordeaux (France), Edinburgh (UK), and Florence (Italy)

International audienceStarting from the definitions and principles of the Historic Urban Landscape Recommendation adopted by UNESCO in 2011, this chapter critically reflects on how different urban conservation approaches cope with change in three European World Heritage cities: Bordeaux (France), Florence (Italy), and Edinburgh (UK). By discussing the findings of a comparative analysis of existing urban conservation management policies, legislation, and tools, the chapter sheds light on good practices and critical aspects to support the improvement of urban conservation processes to better handle contemporary challenges in these case studies, but also in other historic urban landscapes in Europe and beyond