Abstract
The pace of urbanisation, with the increase in the number of metropolitan areas, has been paralleled with the heritage discourse of past generations that valorises monuments in isolation, and has pushed the appreciation of urban heritage to a grim corner in the face of development. Since the turn of the millennium there are international efforts to reverse this trend by placing culture and people-centred approaches into the heritage discourse in order to allow inclusive policies that see culture and cultural heritage as an asset and driving force for sustainable urban development. As one of such instruments, the UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape, as an integrated management model, is considered in this article to have potentials to bridge existing divides to achieve sustainable urban development. With this belief, the paper looks into the future, with supporting arguments that come from discussions as a result of the WHITRAP International Expert Meeting on the Implementation of the HUL approach which took place in 2018, Shanghai, China.
Highlights
Latest trends in human development have put increasing pressures on cities for their progressive development
The UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL Recommendation) accepted in 2011 was the first instrument developed after 35 years to manage problems arising from rapid urban development, and proposed an integrated approach that would place development and conservation of urban heritage on the same plane (UNESCO 2011)1
The Historic Urban Landscape is defined in the HUL Recommendation as follows: the urban area understood as the result of a historic layering of cultural and natural values and attributes, extending beyond the notion of ‘historic centre’ or ‘ensemble’ to include the broader urban context and its geographical setting
Summary
The HUL approach can be considered as the new generation of urban planning, integrating territorial values with local ones; historic layers with the present day environment, linking culture and nature; and intangible values with current global practices (Figure 1). The most significant aspect is that it addresses different urban scales (from metropolis to small settlements) and typologies (from walled cities to modern cities) as well as playing an integrative role between different networks of stakeholders. These goals can be achieved by applying the four tools through an action plan that is circular in nature (Figure 2). The circular nature of this scheme allows cities with different needs to jump start using the Historic Urban Landscape approach at any moment
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