Unpacking the global/local nexus in world heritage sites : a pragmatic approach

This special panel session focuses on the critical interplay between global and local dynamics in heritage sites inscribed in the UNESCO’s World Heritage List. In fact, the management, planning and governance of these particular (and fragile) heritage sites of worldwide relevance is the result of a hybridization of standardized global principles and regulations, and local interpretation of heritage meanings and policy implementation. On the one hand, this session explores the role played by UNESCO and other heritage and non-heritage organisations in setting specific international goals, recommendations, policy guidelines and governance requirements. On the other, it discusses how the global/local nexus is affected by contemporary dynamics of change such as increasing touristification, marketing of local cultures, identities and landscapes for economic purposes, inconsiderate developments, and gentrification processes. Particular attention is paid to the (more or less explicit) conflicts generated by the friction between global and local heritage-based narratives, and between different priorities for local economic development (also through tourism promotion), conservation of heritage sites, and improvement of citizens’ quality of life. This panel discussion contributes to track 8 (Fragile Heritage Sites in a Globalizing World) by presenting a reflection based on (mostly European) case studies and an ever-growing literature on these topics. Key themes are: a) the global/local interplay in fragile World Heritage sites in historic urban environments, cultural landscapes and beyond; b) the suggestion of possible policy recommendations for a more sustainable planning practice in such contexts. The panel session consists in the following four contributions. Francesca Giliberto (University of Leeds, UK) examines the “heritage versus development dilemma” through the lens of a 21st century international approach to urban heritage conservation, management, and development. She highlights how, following the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by the United Nations (2015), UNESCO and ICOMOS – among others– have issued a series of ground-breaking documents to advocate for the importance of heritage for sustainable development, and have provided guidance on how to take concrete measures at the local level in that sense. She critically discusses the discrepancies between the global narratives and recommendations suggested in these documents and their local implementation focusing on the two World Heritage Cities (WHCs) of Florence (Italy) and Edinburgh (UK). She sheds light on effective practices and existing challenges by examining their management systems and urban regulatory frameworks in particular. Finally, she provides recommendations to rethink and reframe current urban heritage management practices for more sustainable WHCs, based on critical insights from“PRAXIS: Arts and Humanities for Global Development”, a research project led by the University of Leeds. Matteo Basso (Iuav University of Venice, Italy) challenges the dominant and essentially positive rural imagery conveyed by the successful inscription of the Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene (Italy) in the World Heritage List. Through a qualitative analysis based on planning documents and interviews with key actors, he emphasizes frictions and contradictions existing not only between global and local heritage-based narratives and initiatives, but also between different values and territorial aspirations. He underlines how the massive vineyard expansion generated by the Prosecco’s global demand has generated environmental impacts and health consequences triggered by the use of chemicals, and thus a growing discontent among locals. These challenges, together with the impacts of the vineyard expansion on the cultural landscape and a set of recommendations formulated by the World Heritage Centre, have resulted in diffused conflicts among different actors. In this context, Basso questions the role of ordinary planning tools in addressing more effectively the interactions between vineyards and urban settlements, as well as between heritage and development. Ilaria Rosetti (University of Antwerp, Belgium) focuses on participatory processes in managing WHCs, and their multiple roles with regard to sustainable urban development. International organisations acknowledge their relevance in official documents, promoting collaborative, inclusive, and equitable heritage processes at national and local levels. In turn, much research work has investigated the challenges and opportunities of implementing participatory heritage practices in WHCs. Different actors’ perspectives have been analysed, including local authorities and other organisations, practitioners as well as local communities, emphasising the role of governing bodies –especially elected ones– in decision-making processes. Still, although they play a key part in the identification and allocation of resources and in the prioritization of policies and actions, such actors’ perception of participatory heritage practices has been little explored. To address this gap, a mayors’ workshop was organized during the 2017 XIV World Congress of the Organization of WHCs, whose findings are discussed in Rosetti’s contribution. Beyond evident commonalities and differences, she analyses the challenges, both internal (weaknesses) and external (threats), that are perceived to hinder the implementation of participatory heritage practices in WHCs, as well as their implications for the quality of participation and sustainable heritage practices. Finally, Remi Wacogne (Iuav University of Venice, Italy) identifies key highlights emerged from the three previous contributions, i.e. that stakeholders involved in processes related to WH sites act according to sensibly different agendas and procedures. Drawing on the experience of the “support to the coordination of UNESCO sites of Veneto” carried out by a research group of Iuav with a formal agreement with the Veneto Region, his contribution presents an application of the actor-network theory (ANT) in this dynamic context. Through a renewed mapping of actors and agencies involved in processes related to WHS, further practical implications for planning and public policy at the local, regional, national and international levels, are highlighted

La gestione dei siti Unesco: stato dell’arte a livello europeo con riferimento alle politiche e pratiche di pianificazione e programmazione, e alle tendenze di innovazione in atto

Rapporto conclusivo della ricerca condotta nell'ambito Protocollo d’intesa tra l’Università Iuav di Venezia e la Fondazione di Venezia rep. contratti 343-2018 prot. n. 25064 del 1/3/2018 – UGOV FOND_VE_2020_RE

Beyond Historic Urban Cores : Moving from Conservation Planning to Heritage Policies in Italy

Italy’s contribution to the conservation of historic urban cores at the international level is widely appreciated both in theoretical and practical terms, as much as its rich urban heritage. But after decades of experiments and reforms in the field of planning, new policies appear necessary. Various phenomenons, including economic recession, mass tourism, climate change and demographic evolutions have had a strong impact on Italian cities and towns, emphasising a critical relationship between their inhabitants and fabric. Meanwhile, policies originally unrelated to urban heritage meddled with this relationship. Conservation areas and listing now appear as inefficient tools, and only recently has sustainable development been seized as an opportunity for historic cities and towns. Is a new approach imposing itself? After a short illustration of the urban heritage governance framework in Italy, this paper will expose and discuss recent policies introduced at the national and local level, including in particular the design of a ‘Landscape Charter’ (Carta del Paesaggio) promoted by the Ministry of Culture in occasion of the ‘Landscape States General’ (Stati Generali del Paesaggio, held in Rome on October 25-26, 2017)

La bellezza non salverà l'Italia

Queste note mirano ad evidenziare alcuni usi del concetto di bellezza in materia di governo del territorio. Un concetto avvincente, quasi consensuale, ma che negli ultimi anni viene spesso abusato o addirittura sovrapposto a quelli di patrimonio culturale e di paesaggio..

Introduction to heritage and identity: from planning and policies to communities, and back

In this section, you will find four chapters that explore cases around the theme of identity in heritage planning. While the chapters share the general assump-tion that identity and heritage planning are strongly interrelated, they all address rather different governance scales, management concepts and heritage perspectives dealing with the built environment. Ranging from urban heritage sites to cultural landscapes, the chapters consider places both as landscapes, characterized by specific morphologies, values and practices, and as the con-texts for various traditions, operations and activities

Connecting Sites: What Does World Heritage Management Consist In? Insights from Veneto

As often emphasized, UNESCO’s World Heritage programme stands out for its global relevance as much as for its local impacts. At the same time, such impacts are heterogeneous and their assessment uneasy, inasmuch stakeholders involved in processes related to World Heritage sites (WHS) act according to sensibly different agendas and procedures: local, regional and national governments, civic organisations, tourism operators, heritage experts —including those working for, or in collaboration with, the World Heritage Center itself—, and so on. What is meant by WHS’ management is thus less clear-cut than generally assumed. Drawing upon the experience of the ‘support to the coordination of UNESCO sites of Veneto’ carried out by a research group of Iuav through a formal agreement with the Veneto Region, this contribution presents an application of the actor-network theory (ANT) to WHS management. It provides an accurate mapping of actors and agencies involved in processes related to WHS, and proposes a pragmatic approach to a field often investigated primarily through documents (such as international recommendations or management plans) rather than in terms of social dynamics. Further practical implications for planning and public policy at the local, regional, national and international levels, are then highlighted

Habiter et fabriquer le patrimoine urbain

Le patrimoine « culturel » apparaît, en France comme en Italie, comme un champ d’action bien défini, avec ses institutions et ses professions, à commencer par l’Inventaire des Monuments historiques ou les Soprintendenze. Aussi bien, il se caractérise par la place qu’y occupe l’intervention publique, même si celle-ci est depuis des années mise à mal par la réduction des ressources disponibles d’une part, et par l’expansion qu’a connu ce patrimoine lui-même d’autre part. En revanche, le patrimoine urbain, que l’on pourrait définir comme l’ensemble des patrimoines reconnus en tant que tels par les autorités publiques dans ce contexte, mais aussi les lieux que des groupes de citoyens y cultivent en tant que « biens communs », reste dans les deux pays une catégorie confuse, qu’il s’agisse de sa définition ou des modalités d’intervention à son égard. Ainsi les « centres historiques » (ou centri storici), qui ont fait l’objet d’opérations d’urbanisme plus ou moins sophistiquées, connaissent une sensible flexion démographique et sont soumis à la pression du tourisme de masse, tandis que les périphéries tendent à être revalorisées, notamment en termes patrimoniaux. La dimension urbaine de ce patrimoine, et à la fois la dimension patrimoniale des villes, émergent cependant avec force, d’une part dans des politiques développées à plusieurs niveaux dont celui international - en particulier par la recommandation de l’UNESCO sur le Paysage urbain historique, étroitement liée aux Objectifs de Développement Durable adoptés par l’ONU -, et d’autres part dans de nombreuses pratiques civiques d’animation et d’appropriation. L’habiter est au centre de ces pratiques, et traverse les échelles et valeurs qui caractérisent le patrimoine urbain ; il est aussi la principale préoccupation de bon nombre des acteurs en jeu. Ce dossier d’État des Lieux entend de poursuivre les réflexions échangées lors de la journée d’études « Abitare il patrimonio urbano/Habiter le patrimoine urbain », organisée par le Réseau LIEU et la Chaire UNESCO « Patrimonio e Rigenerazione urbana » de l’Université IUAV de Venise avec le soutien de l’Ambassade de France en Italie (Programme Cassini), qui s’est tenue au IUAV de Venise le 11 mars 2019

Venezia (in-)sostenibile : Usi e pratiche del patrimonio urbano a confronto

Venezia rappresenta un caso estremo sia per il proprio patrimonio culturale che per gli usi e pratiche di cui esso è oggetto. Sito iscritto alla lista del Patrimonio mondiale UNESCO, che racchiude una quantità eccezionale di beni culturali, è anche —proprio per il suo patrimonio iconico— meta turistica ambita al punto che gli usi correlati la caratterizzano in modo sempre più esclusivo. Lo illustra in particolare la continua riduzione del numero degli abitanti di fronte all’aumento costante delle presenze turistiche, corrispondenti a numerosi cambi di destinazione d’uso a favore di strutture alberghiere, ma anche di nuovi appartamenti ad uso turistico. Una molteplicità di attori operano secondo tempistiche e obiettivi propri, nonché con impatti diversi, su questo singolare territorio. Il saggio ne evocherà una rassegna, illustrativa di quanto vi siano più che mai distanti tra loro politiche e città (Urban@it, 2018), ma anche dei contrasti presenti all’interno sia delle amministrazioni che della cittadinanza locale. Tali contrasti, manifestatisi ad esempio dalle iniziative civiche di difesa dei “beni comuni”, suggeriscono a loro volta che usi significativi del territorio da parte di diversi attori siano incompatibili tra loro. Di fatto, Venezia stessa in quanto patrimonio urbano appare come la principale risorsa mobilitata da questi attori, secondo modalità variamente sostenibili. Tuttavia piuttosto che di opporre pratiche residenziali e usi turistici “più” o “meno” sostenibili, si tratterà in questo saggio di suggerire un raffronto tra pratiche del territorio (Crosta, 2010) e usi del patrimonio (Smith, 2006)

Is there space for heritage in Marghera?

Recent studies in the field of heritage have been characterised by a more comprehensive approach, based on a revision of the concepts of ‘landscape’ and ‘value’ (Gibson, Pendlebury 2009). Urban heritage has, in turn, received much attention by researchers and professionals, as well as by local and international organisations: The Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on the 10 November 2011 represents a landmark in this theoretical and operational evolution (Bandarin, Van Oers 2012 and 2014). The “historic urban landscape approach” offers a substantial contribution to cross-disciplinary perspectives on urban space, by emphasising the ‘organicity’ of historic urban cores and their articulation with surrounding areas, as well as by introducing the intangible dimension of their heritage