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Reshaping Urban Conservation pp 3–20Cite as

Reshaping Urban Conservation

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Part of the book series: Creativity, Heritage and the City ((CHC,volume 2))

Abstract

The paper examines the process that led, throughout over 30 years of policy evolution, to the integration of culture in the International Development Agenda. It also looks at how the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL Recommendation) has reflected the new policy framework and has transferred it into the field of urban conservation. From the Decade for Cultural Development (1988–1997) to Agenda 2030 adopted by the United Nations in 2015, a major shift has occurred in cultural policies. During the 1990s and the 2000s, several important innovations have come about, ranging from the adoption of two new international conventions, for intangible heritage (2003) and the diversity of cultural expressions (2005). Parallel to this shift, the World Heritage Convention has evolved, with the inclusion of new heritage types such as cultural landscapes. Within this Convention a debate on the conservation of urban heritage has led to the Vienna Memorandum of 2005 and later to the adoption by UNESCO of the HUL Recommendation. This has prompted a broader reflection on the role of cities and urban heritage in cultural policies, currently under way. The adoption of the New Urban Agenda in 2016 has opened up new perspectives on urban heritage policies and on the role of culture in promoting urban regeneration and resilience.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    UNESCO General Conference 1976. Recommendation concerning the Safeguarding and Contemporary Role of Historic Areas, Nairobi, UNESCO.

    II. General principles

    • 3. Every historic area and its surroundings should be considered in their totality as a coherent whole whose balance and specific nature depend on the fusion of the parts of which it is composed and which include human activities as much as the buildings, the spatial organization and the surroundings. All valid elements, including human activities, however modest, thus have a significance in relation to the whole which must not be disregarded.

    • 4. Historic areas and their surroundings should be actively protected, against damage of all kinds, particularly that resulting from unsuitable use, unnecessary additions and misguided or insensitive changes such as will impair their authenticity, and from damage due to any form of pollution. Any restoration work undertaken should be based on scientific principles. Similarly, great attention should be paid to the harmony and aesthetic feeling produced by the linking or the contrasting of the various parts which make up the groups of buildings and which give to each group its particular character.

    • 5. In the conditions of modern urbanization, which leads to a considerable increase in the scale and density of buildings, apart from the danger of direct destruction of historic areas, there is a real danger that newly developed areas can ruin the environment and character of adjoining historic areas. Architects and town-planners should be careful to ensure that views from and to monuments and historic areas are not spoilt and that historic areas are integrated harmoniously into contemporary life

  2. 2.

    ICOMOS General Assembly 1987. Charter for the Conservation of Historic Towns and Urban Areas (Washington Charter). Washington DC, ICOMOS.

  3. 3.

    World Heritage Centre 2017. Operational Guidelines of the World Heritage Convention, para 47:

    Cultural landscapes are cultural properties and represent the “combined works of nature and of man” designated in Article 1 of the Convention. They are illustrative of the evolution of human society and settlement over time, under the influence of the physical constraints and/or opportunities presented by their natural environment and of successive social, economic and cultural forces, both external and internal

  4. 4.

    Australia ICOMOS 2013The Burra Charter. The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance.

    • For the purposes of this Charter:

    • 1.1 Place means a geographically defined area. It may include elements, objects, spaces and views. Place may have tangible and intangible dimensions.

    • 1.2 Cultural significance means aesthetic, historic, scientific, social or spiritual value for past, present or future generations. Cultural significance is embodied in the place itself, its fabric, setting, use, associations, meanings, records, related places and related objects. Places may have a range of values for different individuals or groups

    • 1.3 Fabric means all the physical material of the place including elements, fixtures, contents and objects.

    • 1.4 Conservation means all the processes of looking after a place so as to retain its cultural significance

    • 1.5 Maintenance means the continuous protective care of a place, and its setting

    • Maintenance is to be distinguished from repair which involves restoration or reconstruction.

    • 1.6 Preservation means maintaining a place in its existing state and retarding deterioration.

    • 1.7 Restoration means returning a place to a known earlier state by removing accretions or by reassembling existing elements without the introduction of new material.

    • 1.8  Reconstruction means returning a place to a known earlier state and is distinguished from restoration by the introduction of new material.

    • 1.9 Adaptation means changing a place to suit the existing use or a proposed use

    • 1.10 Use means the functions of a place, including the activities and traditional and customary practices that may occur at the place or are dependent on the place

  5. 5.

    UNESCO 2001. Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity. Paris, UNESCO.

    • Article 1 – Cultural diversity: the common heritage of humanity

    • Culture takes diverse forms across time and space. This diversity is embodied in the uniqueness and plurality of the identities of the groups and societies making up humankind. As a source of exchange, innovation and creativity, cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature. In this sense, it is the common heritage of humanity and should be recognized and affirmed for the benefit of present and future generations

  6. 6.

    UNESCO 2003. Convention for the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Paris, UNESCO.

    • Preamble:

    • Considering the deep-seated interdependence between the intangible cultural heritage and the tangible cultural and natural heritage,

    • Recognizing that the processes of globalization and social transformation, alongside the conditions they create for renewed dialogue among communities, also give rise, as does the phenomenon of intolerance, to grave threats of deterioration, disappearance and destruction of the intangible cultural heritage, in particular owing to a lack of resources for safeguarding such heritage,

    • Being aware of the universal will and the common concern to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage of humanity,

    • Recognizing that communities, in particular indigenous communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals, play an important role in the production, safeguarding, maintenance and re-creation of the intangible cultural heritage, thus helping to enrich cultural diversity and human creativity

  7. 7.

    The two main themes which served as the basic framework for the conference were (1) the challenges of cultural diversity and (2) the challenges of recasting cultural policies. Under the first theme, the challenges of cultural diversity, the following issues were discussed: (1.1) a commitment to pluralism, (1.2) cultural rights, (1.3a) cultural heritage for development, (1.3b) cultural creativity and cultural industries and (1.4) culture for children and young people. Under the second theme, the challenges of recasting cultural policies, the following issues were discussed: (2.1) improving research and international cooperation for cultural policy, (2.2) mobilising resources for cultural activities, (2.3) the media in cultural policy and (2.4) culture and the new media technologies.

  8. 8.

    The Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund (MDG-F) was an international cooperation mechanism committed to eradicating poverty and inequality and to accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Established in 2007 through an agreement between the Government of Spain and the United Nations Development Programme on behalf of the UN system, the MDG-F operated in 50 countries, working through more than 27 United Nations agencies. With a total contribution of approximately US$900 million, the MDG-F has financed 130 joint programmes around the world.

  9. 9.

    The countries involved were Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Honduras, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, Palestine, Senegal, Turkey and Uruguay. The programmes under the culture and development thematic window followed a wide range of approaches, due in part to the different contexts in which activities have been implemented (e.g. regional diversity, income diversity) and the range of needs and priorities identified.

  10. 10.

    Agenda 2030, Goal 11.

    TARGETS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 11: MAKE CITIES INCLUSIVE, SAFE, RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE

    1. 1.

      By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services, and upgrade slums

    2. 2.

      By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons

    3. 3.

      By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries

    4. 4.

      Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage

    5. 5.

      By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations

    6. 6.

      By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management

    7. 7.

      By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities

    8. 8.

      Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning

    9. 9.

      By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels

    10. 10.

      Support least developed countries, including through financial and technical assistance, in building sustainable and resilient buildings utilizing local materials

  11. 11.

    “Managing urban areas has become one of the most important development challenges of the 21st century. Our success or failure in building sustainable cities will be a major factor in the success of the post-2015 UN development agenda”, said John Wilmoth, Director of UN DESA’s Population Division.

  12. 12.

    The Creative Cities Programme of UNESCO encompasses today 180 cities in all regions of the world, that have invested in creative industries as a core tool for their development policies.

  13. 13.

    United Nations 2016. The New Urban Agenda. Quito, October 2016. The New Urban Agenda was adopted at the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) in Quito, Ecuador, on 20 October 2016. It was endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly at its sixty-eighth plenary meeting of the seventy-first session on 23 December 2016.

    …..“124. We will include culture as a priority component of urban plans and strategies in the adoption of planning instruments, including master plans, zoning guidelines, building codes, coastal management policies and strategic development policies that safeguard a diverse range of tangible and intangible cultural heritage and landscapes, and will protect them from potential disruptive impacts of urban development.

    125. We will support the leveraging of cultural heritage for sustainable urban development and recognize its role in stimulating participation and responsibility. We will promote innovative and sustainable use of architectural monuments and sites, with the intention of value creation, through respectful restoration and adaptation. We will engage indigenous peoples and local communities in the promotion and dissemination of knowledge of tangible and intangible cultural heritage and protection of traditional expressions and languages, including through the use of new technologies and techniques”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UNESCO Advisor, Paris, France

    Francesco Bandarin

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  1. Francesco Bandarin
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Correspondence to Francesco Bandarin .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Professor in Heritage and Values, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

    Ana Pereira Roders

  2. UNESCO Advisor, Paris, France

    Francesco Bandarin

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Bandarin, F. (2019). Reshaping Urban Conservation. In: Pereira Roders, A., Bandarin, F. (eds) Reshaping Urban Conservation. Creativity, Heritage and the City, vol 2. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8887-2_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8887-2_1

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