Urban Heritage Areas Research Articles

Alien woody plants on the retaining walls of the Vistula boulevards in Kraków, southern Poland

Introducing alien plants for urban horticulture and forestry may lead to their naturalisation and invasion, bringing new challenges to protecting native biodiversity and cultural heritage in urban areas. Many old buildings and monuments are threatened by invasive trees and shrubs, which can damage their structure by physical and physiological root processes and by increasing biomass of above-ground parts. The study aimed to determine the floristic composition and abundance of alien woody plants occurring on the historic retaining walls of the Vistula boulevards in Kraków, southern Poland. A total of 11 alien woody plant species were recorded in 2022, including some invasive species in Poland, such as Acer negundo, Ailanthus altissima, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Juglans regia, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Robinia pseudoacacia and Rosa rugosa. Most of the species showed low abundance (less than 50 individuals) in each of the distinguished age classes (seedling, juvenile and mature individuals), except vines, which in some places occupied relatively large surfaces of the walls (more than 25 m2). Regular control and monitoring of trees and shrubs are recommended to properly protect the retaining walls of the Vistula boulevards in Kraków.

Tyrannical participation approaches in China’s regeneration of Urban heritage areas: a case study of baitasi historic district, Beijing

ABSTRACT In China’s new model of heritage area regeneration, a series of approaches have been undertaken to promote community participation which is branded as inclusive and innovative by the local authority. Using Baitasi Historic District in Beijing as a case study, this research examines such new participation approaches. By analysing how the government has failed to meet the communities’ demands as well as to engage the communities in the decision-making process but only the implementation stage, I argue that the government has misused the concept of participation by equating attendance and notification to higher levels of participation. The participation approaches are ‘the tyranny of participation’ which de facto helps to justify the official agenda, exploit the communities for their financial contribution, and target the already privileged group while continuing to marginalise the underprivileged. These approaches make the new regeneration model no different from previous ones in terms of facilitating displacement and widening the socioeconomic gaps between the lower-class and the middle- and upper-classes. This research finally reflects on the flawed motivation, strategy, and subsequent negative consequences of such community participation and calls for more attempts in heritage practices to solve the issues.

The economic value of heritage in England: A benefit transfer study

Historic buildings contribute an important part of the cultural capital of urban heritage areas. Better understanding the benefits for both users and for non-users can aid efficient allocation of resources to the preservation of heritage. Benefit transfer (BT) is an established cost-effective method for assigning economic values to public goods which have no market price, such as local heritage. BT takes stated preference data (willingness to pay (WTP)) elicited through surveys of relevant populations collected at multiple sites to produce an average or adjusted WTP value that is representative to comparable sites. Yet the empirical record is sparse for heritage assets. Consequently, BT is commonly applied without consideration of the error introduced by the transfer, or by transferring values from single-site studies, which introduces the risk of outlier bias. Our approach simultaneously collects WTP estimates from multiple heritage sites using an online survey tailored to the context of each site. This enables application of a comprehensive range of BT tests to the values obtained. We find that transfer error across the heritage sites surveyed is within accepted thresholds of error, providing confidence in the bank of values for transfer to comparable sites. We provide practical guidance on how the values obtained through our method can be applied by practitioners and government analysts, and outline the trade-offs between bulk data collection of multiple sites in a single category of cultural heritage.

THE TOURISTS’ SPATIAL BEHAVIOUR AND TOURIST MOVEMENT PATTERN IN MUAR JOHOR

Unsystematic transportation system and accessibility, fewer tourism packages supply, and disorganised digital marketing strategy in destination management are the factors of the limitation of the tourist movement in a destination. Therefore, this research aims to determine the characteristics of the tourist’s spatial behaviour and tourist movement pattern in Muar, Johor. This research implemented a qualitative method through the semi-structured interview, which involved seven respondents who visited Muar, Johor. The result shows the characteristics of tourists’ spatial behaviour and tourist’s movement pattern has a significant interaction in investigating visiting characteristics, spatial data and movement. In the context of the macro-level movement pattern, the findings indicate that Muar has the potential to be developed as a one-day trip and three days one-night trip destination. Hence, it has positively affected tourism destination management to improve the travel package for domestic and international tourists. The main contribution of this research is to apply the mutual understanding of the tourist movement concept among visitors in investigating the complex visitor movement during travel related to the physical environment factor such as attractions, route and accessibility, and mode of transportation influenced by tourists’ spatial behaviour. This study can also be a primary reference for Muar local authority and destination management to ameliorate many aspects of creating an efficient tourist movement considering sustainable development in the urban heritage area.

Identifying Overtourism Impacts on the Informal Sector’s Livelihoods in Urban Heritage Area

Ever since UNESCO discussed the impact of revitalization on the urban environment and its heritage value, a new niche of urban heritage tourism has emerged. This niche of tourism was once a successful phenomenon before it reached a point where overtourism eventually produces volatility issues. The literature review has shown that research on the effect of overtourism on informal economies is inadequate. Many academics seem mostly interested in focusing on the economic aspects and the inhabitants, without addressing whether they are engaging in formal or informal sectors. Therefore, studies of overtourism on the informal sector in urban heritage areas are essential to bridge the knowledge gap. This article will identify the impact of overtourism on informal sectors’ livelihoods in the urban heritage area using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework, with minor adjustments within the urban heritage context, as the primary tool to carefully understand the phenomenon and suggest a more suitable framework for this specific study. A qualitative data analysis software is used to conduct the necessary processes in this article. Informal markets and disadvantaged communities are seen to find ways to develop and merge the resources they already have innovatively to ensure their well-being. A modified framework to discuss the context of urban heritage is being developed by evaluating the informal sectors of urban heritage from the viewpoint of the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach during the overtourism phenomenon. The proposed framework may potentially be used to address other issues relating to urban livelihoods in different contexts.

Development of Urban Heritage Areas in Al Ahsa By Using GIS

Development of Urban Heritage Areas in Al Ahsa By Using GIS

Towards Urban Archaeo-Geophysics in Peru. The Case Study of Plaza de Armas in Cusco.

One of the most complex challenges of heritage sciences is the identification and protection of buried archaeological heritage in urban areas and the need to manage, maintain and inspect underground services. Archaeology and geophysics, used in an integrated way, provide an important contribution to open new perspectives in understanding both the history of cities and in helping the decision makers in planning and governing the urban development and management. The problems of identification and interpretation of geophysical features in urban subsoil make it necessary to develop ad hoc procedures to be implemented and validated in significant case studies. This paper deals with the results of an interdisciplinary project in Cusco (Peru), the capital of Inca Empire, where the georadar method was applied for the first time in the main square. The georadar method was successfully employed based on knowledge of the historical evolution of Cusco and the availability of archaeological records provided by some excavations nearby the study area. Starting from a model for the electromagnetic wave reflection from archaeological structures and pipes, georadar results were interpreted by means of comparative morphological analysis of high amplitude values observed from time slices with reflectors visualized in the radargrams.

OPEN MUSEUM AS A TOOL FOR CULTURE SUSTAINABILITY: PRAMBANAN TEMPLE STUDY CASE

A city or region can not escape the rapid development from time to time. This development certainly begins with the planning that is well-prepared in all aspects that want to be developed in the city, where one of them is a cultural heritage. Planning or plans that are formed of course will directly or indirectly affect the entire related aspects, so it is very important to support historical buildings or other cultural heritage. Therefore, it suggests the concept of the open museum as a tool or a way to maintain and protect cultural heritage, which can then also help develop culture and heritage tourism in a particular city or region. In this discussion, it was also stated that the open museum is an effective tool to maintain urban heritage, maintain history and culture, and encourage sustainable tourism. There are two case studies that will be discussed in this paper, which are case studies from related journals, which are about the City of Mecca, which with the existence of urban development projects is feared to endanger the historical locations in the city. The planning solution which was then developed was by proposing to make the inner-city area a protected historical location and developing it as an open museum with the aim of giving consideration or recommendations for the maintenance and protection of the historical location of Mecca, and forming a sustainable tourism industry taking into account the existence of Hajj activities and Umrah business. The discussion of this paper will also be complemented by a reflection of the open museum concept in the Indonesian context, which focuses on the Prambanan Temple Complex as one of the applications of the open museum concept that can be used as a way to realize sustainable cultural heritage in urban areas.

Exposure Indices of Extreme Wind-Driven Rain Events for Built Heritage

Building performance and material change of cultural heritage in urban areas are negatively impacted by wind-driven rain (WDR). The frequency and intensity of WDR exposure are modified by climate change. Current approaches to exposure assessment emphasise prolonged exposure. Here, we propose indices to represent the exposure of cultural heritage to extreme WDR events. The indices are derived in two stages: (1) time-binning of long-term exposure, and (2) statistical representation of the occurrence of infrequent but intense events by fitting to the Generalised Extreme Value (GEV) distribution. A comparison to an existing exposure assessment procedure demonstrates that the proposed indices better represent shorter, more intense, and more consistent WDR events. Indices developed for seasons had greater statistical confidence than those developed for annual exposure. One index is contextualised within a model of a gutter on a terraced building: this converts the index from a measure of exposure to potential impact. This evaluation demonstrated the importance of maintenance to reduce the potential impact of WDR events. This work has direct and indirect implications for developing robust assessment procedures for cultural heritage exposure to extreme weather events.

Overtourism management competencies in Asian urban heritage areas

Purpose Urban heritage areas are under significant pressure as a result of increasing populations and significant visitor growth. The growth in visitor numbers is of particular concern as this is leading to the phenomenon of overtourism. In Asia, although the issue of overtourism requires immediate attention in order to avoid the loss of tangible and intangible heritage, many of those responsible for managing urban heritage areas lack the skills and competencies to prevent it or mitigate its effects. The purpose of this paper is to present an exploratory competency framework for managing urban heritage areas sustainably, for thereby preventing and/or mitigating overtourism. Design/methodology/approach In developing this framework, the authors examined how the context needs to change in order to implement sustainable urban heritage management, and they identified the particular competencies and associated skills and knowledge that are required of the stakeholders responsible for urban heritage areas to manage, prevent and/or mitigate overtourism. This analysis was based on a series of case studies examining the planning and management of urban heritage areas in Asia. Findings It was found that meeting three key objectives was essential in improving the competencies of stakeholder heritage area planners and developers as it relates to overtourism: integrated team approach, a mindset change on the part of key stakeholders and a common vision guiding the development process. Research limitations/implications It was found that in order for urban heritage managers to sustainably manage the heritage under their responsibility and prevent and/or mitigate overtourism, a fundamental shift in mindset is required on the part of key stakeholders, moving away from a “silo” approach and towards an integrated approach to urban heritage management, in which the team leaders and management teams have an interdisciplinary set of competencies and are supported in the planning and management process by subject/discipline specialists. The authors found that the set of competencies that are required by heritage management teams lie at the intersection of the four key areas of policy and planning intervention in urban heritage areas, which are: community economic development, urban planning and design, urban heritage area planning, and tourism planning and management. The competencies can be categorized under three headings: interdisciplinary perspective, soft management competencies and technical competencies. Originality/value This paper was developed based on the authors’ experience in planning and tourism initiatives throughout Asia and on a long history of urban heritage tourism and planning work around the world. Most of the discussion focusses on how urban destinations can prevent and/or address the issues associated with overtourism by enhancing the competencies of the teams and practitioners who are responsible for managing urban heritage areas.

Turismo, gentrificación y presión por desplazamiento en los cerros Concepción y Alegre de Valparaíso

The historic areas of Latin American cities have seen a process of urban transformation. In the case of Valparaiso selective urban renovation in urban heritage areas such as the Concepcion and Alegre hills driven by the tourist and real estate industries and promoted by the state through programmes and subsidies. From such interventions, large homes changed from residential to tourist use, becoming hotels, restaurants, handicraft stores, gradually transforming residential neighborhoods into enclaves for tourism. This paper seeks to understand how inhabitants have experienced these changes and what it means for them. Through sixty interviews with residents of the Concepcion and Alegre hills, the impact of tourism and real estate transformations on the quality of life of inhabitants is analyzed. The results show an urban and social reconversion that has valorized their homes and improved equipment and urban services in these sectors, while discontent over the loss of neighborhood life and forms of vulnerability of historical residents with economic difficulties to conserve and maintain their homes

THE CONCEPT OF GREEN AREAS THROUGH VAROUIS HISTORICAL ERAS A CASE STUDY FOR GREEN AREAS IN HERITAGE AREAS OF EGYPTIAN AND SAUDI ARABIAN COUNTRIES

People have been interested in green areas for many years due to its strong correlation between human life on the earth and plant life, as green areas were a source of the beginning stages of agriculture, then stability, and then the formation of society. Moreover, green areas have been linked through the various eras with religious beliefs, engaged with ritual and worship, as well as social and cultural elements in ancient civilisations, including eastern civilisations, where they were symbols of paradise in Islamic civilisations. However, there has been an absence of green areas in urban areas, which, over time, has seen an increase in pollution. Therefore, creating urban green areas has become an important goal to achieve ecological balance and to meet the recreational needs for citizens. This research paper aims to recognise landscape design through a variety of historical eras, identifying the historical background and its importance in the urban space, as well as the foundations and theories of landscape design in architecture and urban spaces to meet the physical, spiritual, and psychological human need to preserve essential natural resources, such as air, plants, water, and wildlife. It also aims to promote economic development and activate social relationships, considering the allocation of open spaces in cities with the principles and planning designs suited to local conditions. The research will focus on the following points: [1] the importance of the concept of green areas design, [2] green areas through different ears, [3] the principles and planning design for green areas in architectural and urban spaces, and [4] analytical studies of green area cases in architectural and urban heritage areas of Egyptian and Saudi Arabian Countries.

The effect of Vehicle traffic on walkability at the old city of Sulaimaniyah

Most of the cities at the old urban fabric heritage area featured with specific characteristics. Sulaymaniyah city has such an old and heritage area. The fabric features similar specifications to those of the most cities of the Islamic world, in terms of its streets, alleys and lanes. Since roads and alleys where forming a nested organic shape served the urban movement in full conformity which meets the complete walkability requirements through alleys and streets. The change and development of the transport systems and then the penetration of these modern systems in old alleys which are not designed and not suitable for such systems have made distraction in general traffic and the walkability in particular. This research tries to focus on this point by studying the factors that affect walkability at the old city of Sulaymaniyah and looks at the impact of vehicular traffic on this possibility by examining a specific zone of the old city and comparing this with global criteria and standards used in walkability at such similar areas. To reach the goal of the impact of vehicular traffic on walkability at the traditional area of Sulaymaniyah, the research concluded that because of the nature of the alleys and streets of this area with specific privacy, the walkability is adversely affected.

التوفیق بین الحفاظ والإستثمار لمواقع التراث العمرانى ( الواقع والتحدیات )

The urban heritage of the Arab countries represents a valuable national architectural and cultural wealth that connects the society of these Countries in the modern age with their historical roots. It is an important economic resource in the field of investment not only at the local level, but also at the international level. Conservation of this heritage and investment in it are therefore one of the most important economic basis for the sustainable development process. The problem of the Heritage investment is one of the most serious issues that face the heritage locations in most Arab countries that contain similar heritage locations. Investment operations in heritage areas are a process that requires communication and existence of new visions. This occurs as a result of the rapid local and regional changes in the comprehensive development process that takes place in those environments and their surrounding areas due to the factor of time and human change. Heritage preservation and investment projects are one of the most complicated operational processes because of the existence of a set of determinants and criteria that depend on the compatibility between conservation objectives and the change associated with the continuity of the heritage effective marketing. Such relation should be established in a way that works to flourish and preserve the heritage from extinction, and at the same time achieve the desired economic return on investment. Therefore, The study discusses the negative effects of dealing with the urban heritage sites, which can be seen in the separation between the conservation policies and the activation of the investment criteria and the economic aspects that in turn represent the economic and social benefit of the heritage zone. Based on the interest on the preservation and protection of the urban heritage and the activation of its role in sustainable development programs, the study focuses on the role of the urban heritage investment and its economic returns on the sustainability of the urban heritage sites through the idea of ​​reconciling between conservation and investment. The study highlights the economic importance of urban heritage. It defines the investment programs and methods and the probable source of funding. The study applied to one of the most important and oldest historical heritage areas in the historic Cairo (Al-Darb El-Ahmar) as a case study. It is also one of the suitable heritage areas for Investment due to its urban heritage elements and its historical and strategic location. The study monitors and describes the current situation and identifies the most important lessons learned from this case study. It also determines the investment considerations and their economic impact on the region. Moreover, it summarizes the lessons learned from some international cases. Accordingly, the study formulates a sustainable future vision and methodology that helps to invest in the heritage areas and conserve them at the same time. The developed vision and methodology can be applied in the urban heritage areas in Egypt and the Arab Countries. Finally, the study results emphasize the importance of the urban heritage investment. Investigations of the local and international practices can be considered a guide for the current and future studies. They also help in the formulation of the methodologies and the establishment of the conservation policies and investment systems and economic aspects to ensure the continuity of the prosperity of the urban heritage sites.

Whose Sense of Place? Re-thinking Place Concept and Urban Heritage Conservation in Social Media Era

A change in a conservation approach that is now more focused on the conservation of a place than on a single object has placed an understanding of a place as an important concept that must be understood in urban heritage planning. However, the urban place perspective has been shifted, as a result of the change of attitude of people living in the urban area due to the rising of social media. This paper argues the concept of place in the heritage conservation planning, especially in the area designed to be tourism objects, which needs to be revisited. The very dynamic urban people as a result of technology and information must be considered. In order to understand the man-place relationship, the sense of place concept is the most common concept used and in the current context of heritage conservation, the review of place concept could be traced by understanding who is the owner of a sense of place in the social media era. In the current academic literature, the common discourse says the local community as the owner of the sense of place because visitors have limited chance to own the sense of place. This paper also argues that the shift of place perspective due to social media could be the catalyst in creating a strong sense of place for visitors. To support the argument, this paper uses the study of Concept of Mediatization and Concept of Parochial that have successfully explained how social media provides indirect experience based on people-place interaction and a sense of familiarity of an unknown or strange place. Therefore, this paper states that in the sense of place context: (1) the experience factor, as one of the factors in the creation of a sense of place, does not need to be physically experienced but it can be built based on other person’s personal reflection. It also gives an opportunity to make a self-interpretation about the value of the heritage place; (2) sense of familiarity, which is believed to be owned by the locals only due to the period of staying in the area, can be owned by persons who have never visited the place. That is why when the tourists come to visit the heritage place with their own interpretation of experience built previously they are very potential to have a strong sense of place when doing activities in such short time of visit. In the context of heritage planning, this change will certainly have an impact on (1) the change of the stakeholder mapping of urban heritage area conservation, and (2) the change of place-making concept in an effort to conserve the public space of heritage areas, where heritage planning needs to make room for digital dimension contribution as one form of advancement in information technology that has become the urban lifestyle of today.

Defining Distinctiveness Aspect of Place Identity in Urban Heritage Tourism

In supporting heritage tourism, emotional and psychological reactions between people and the places are required until the sites are no longer a mere identity of the geographical formation. The positive perception of people indicates satisfaction that is strongly influenced by the image of an urban area. The image defines the character of the place (spirit of place). In shaping the image of place, place identity takes a significant role and distinctiveness is one aspect of it that contributes in. This research aims to investigate the distinctiveness aspect and its influences in defining place identity of urban heritage area by using variable, i.e. landmark, uniqueness, particular character, and different perception. It focuses on the historical corridor of Medan City, Indonesia, chosen due to its significant role in the establishment of Medan City in past and the existence of historic buildings. This research combined qualitative and quantitative method through field observation and nine in-depth interviews as well as 360 questionnaires distribution, respectively to examine the perception of residents and visitors. This research contributes in defining place identity that can be used as evaluation and indicator for future planning. It will benefit in securing place identity towards support in urban heritage tourism that improves the quality of life. The result indicates that the existence of heritage buildings as landmark allows someone to have a unique affiliation to the research area. However, the diversity of interesting cultural activity, local product as well public facilities requires more improvement.

COMMUNITY BASED URBAN AREA CONSERVATION LESSONS FROM PAKISTAN

Pakistan has a treasure of historic cores as part of various cities that date back to Pre-Mughal, Mughal and post Mughal periods. Even those that were developed during the 19th century British rule have areas that are valuable as representative of a shared heritage with colonies of Britain. Since many historic cores have become part of the cities, these historic cores are seriously threatened. Unesco World Heritage List includes many major historical monuments and sites of Pakistan but it is yet to list any historical town in Pakistan .The local legislation also does not list any historical town. In spite of their value most historical areas are deteriorated and many parts of this significant heritage have been lost over the years. Community based conservation promotes the idea that the key to success of long term conservation lies in community engagement bringing the benefits of historical conservation to the local community. However, although community based conservation is practiced commonly world wide, it is not always successful. This paper tries to answer the following questions: 1. Is community based conservation an effective tool in Pakistan for conservation of urban areas? 2. What are the factors that contribute to the success or failure of such conservation exercises? 3. What part does a project design and local community character play in the success or failure of an urban conservation project. A multi sited case study method has been used to conservation project both similarities and differences related to review heritage conservation. Each site has been analysed for its unique local context and each project has been reviewed different project design which speaks about the multi layered challenges of heritage conservation. The three cases presented here offer valuable lessons for the design and implementation of area conservation programs in Pakistan. One lesson is the need to put all values embedded in urban heritage into play, as they are the drivers that mobilize a diverse set of stakeholders. These values include socio cultural and social justice, historic, artistic, educational and economic factors that can mobilize community, Government, Elite, Philanthropist and Entrepreneurs. The premise of analysis here is that the more the variety of values the more sustainable the conservation. The methodology used is literature review from secondary sources i.e. books, articles, academic papers and discussions with colleagues. The conclusion points towards the fact that In Pakistan community based conservation may not be the only solution to area conservation because only few groups can value it, like academia, groups from civil society and some government departments and communities at large need more motivation and awareness to become the major participant of urban area conservation exercises. The role of elite and private sector is also very insignificant. Any external agency can help only in advisory and financial capacity, but means to generate funds locally should be there. The status of urban area conservation is described by an academic conservationist Prof. Dr. Anila Naeem form the Department of Architecture and Planning, NED University o Engineering and Technology in 2009 as follows: “In Pakistan urban area conservation is not an established professional field and designation of historic centers is altogether a very new idea. Thus, conserving urban heritage areas may take many shapes and meanings and conservation of urban areas is more complex than conservation of individual buildings or archaeological remains. Keywords: Urban area conservation, community, Pakistan, heritage, historic cores.

Improvement of Involvement Society in the Context of Smart Community for Cultural Heritage Preservation in Singosari

Singosari is an urban heritage area where is located in Malang Regency with heritage object such as Singosari Temple, Sumberawan Temple, and 2 Dwarapala Statues. Singosari urban heritage area is needed to preseve because it has historical and cultural value as future learn materials about Singosari origin. Nonetheless many people who lived around Singosari heritage area do not know even do not care about heritage. There are only some of them who care about heritage area in Singosari. They made a community named Gerakan Masyarakat Peduli Singosari (GMPS). GMPS need to do any efforts to persuade people in preservation of Singosari heritage area. This research used literature review as analysis method with rationalistic approached. The result is GMPS need to do some effort to persuade community in heritage preservation such as promotion activities about urban heritage, socialization activities about urban heritage, and innovative activities that involve community to keep urban heritage area or objects sustain.

The Rapid Assesment Using RAFHAM Method in Singosari, Malang Regency (Kabupaten Malang)

Singosari District is an urban heritage area where is located in Kabupaten Malang. Singosari District is one of the cultural heritage area which has the heritage buildings that used for cultural tourism as well. They are Singasari Temple, Sumberawan Temple, and 2 Dwarapala Statues. Community arround heritage area has limitations to improve their involvement due to limited land arround there, whereas they have many efforts for developing the cultural tourism. This study aimed to assess how far the level of participation of community in Singosari District and conclude what they can do for developing the cultural tourism. For reach the goal of this studi, it used RAFHAM method. This method is one of participatory approach that explore all of information and formulate the plan from local community. From this study, the results shown that the activity level is about low to moderate and the perception of the community relatively has a negative perception. The level of participation in the Consultation. It means that the local community has a lot of efforts for developing the cultural tourism but need more support from Department of Culture and Tourism in Kabupaten Malang and Cultural Heritage Preservation Center in Trowulan, East Java.

Legal and institutional limitations for the conservation of built heritage in Colombo

The built heritage in urban areas is severely threatened due to the increased demand for land and buildings for more profitable uses in the process of urbanization and urban development. Even though the areas have been identified and declared as conservation areas they have been kept aside and unattended which leads to several other harmful effects. Conservation on the other hand has become a challenging task due to various impediments and drawbacks in the institutional and legal structure in developing countries. The main objective of this paper is therefore to identify the limitations of the existing institutional and legal framework relating to the conservation and management of buildings with architectural and/or historical values in the city of Colombo by highlighting the issues and challenges in conservation of built heritage in emerging increased urbanization. In Sri Lanka, there are many measures taken for the protection of built heritage. Among them Department of Archaeology is the key institution overseeing the general legislative and policy framework. Colombo- the Colombo Municipal Council Area- which is selected as the case study of this article bears a historical value as it is located in a strategic position in the Indian Ocean. Currently Colombo is the Commercial Capital and the primate city in the country. Urban Development Authority (UDA) as the pioneering institution in urban development in the country has taken steps to conserve and manage the historical properties in Colombo by way of regulations and development projects along with the other stakeholders like Department Archaeology, and Colombo Municipal Council. However there are many issues and challenges still faced by the authorities in conservation and management of historical properties in the context of urbanization and urban development.