The management of heritage buildings in historical urban areas according to cost-benefit methods

Abstract

The heritage buildingsare the most prominent products of the interaction of civilizational, cultural, political, social and economic values throughout history, whose presence is concentrated in the historical urban centres, especially (the city of Baghdad - the old Rusafacentre). The lack of interest in the architectural heritage and the unexamined administrative interventions and decisions, such as preserving what has no economic or social feasibility, have determined the focus of general research with the concept of managing heritage buildings. In light of the emergence of new forms and methods in this field, it provides all information, data, and decision-making capabilities. The preservation is the specific method for dealing with heritage. For the importance of knowledge of the cost-benefit method in decision-making for the management of heritage buildings, the research problem was identified in ((the lack of local studies dealing with the cost-benefits method in making decisions about building management and preservation within historical areas)). The research has adopted the descriptive and analytical approach of previous studies leading to building a theoretical framework of knowledge and extracting indicators for the main items represented by the economic impact, social return and financial impact which were employed in the practical study on selected samples within the historical area (Rasheed Street). The research concluded that the management of heritage buildings according to the cost-benefit method is an integrated and comprehensive process for each of the economic impact, costs, social return and financial effect in a balanced manner for decision-making for conservation and investment to cover the costs of conservation, maintenance and rehabilitation while providing various and innovative sources of financing.