Urban built heritage protection and realistic dilemmas:the development process,protection system,and critical thinking of historic districts in Dalian

In China,the northeastern region has preserved many valuable modern built heritage buildings,which are undergoing difficult exploratory protection during the industrial and urbanisation process.Taking Dalian city as a case study,this article retraces the history of Dalian’s opening up and colonial management from the perspective of urban planning and historic district protection and management systems.This article sorts out the influence of national and local institutional policies on Dalian’s urban construction and development to analyse the past evolution,current problems and internal causes of the renovation and protection of Dalian’s typical historic districts.This influence is mainly reflected in the lack of protection and damage done to unofficial heritage,the disconnection between historic districts and the surrounding environments and urban textures,and the Chinese-style transformation and economic decline of exotic areas.This paper calls for attention to and the rapid clarification of the built heritage list,the improvement of planning and protection systems and related supporting policies,and a focus on the protection of the authenticity of colonial heritage.This paper provides strategic guidance for improving the protection of historic districts in Dalian in Northeast China and hopes to serve as a reference for the protection of built heritage in other nonfamous historic and cultural cities.

Circularity-based decision-making framework for the integrated conservation of built heritage:the case of the Medina of Tunis

Several factors overlap in making urban heritage conservation vulnerable in terms of long-term sustainability.The purpose of this study is to offer insights into the dynamic role that heritage governance plays in the current sustainability debate.This purpose is achieved by investigating the shift from a‘governing for culture’approach to a‘governing through culture’approach in heritage conservation.Subsequently,a case is built for a circularity-based conservation strategy applicable to the governance of historic cities.Different indicators of the circular governance approach are considered,and useful data are collected in comparative form.The cross-matching relationship between the factors is then evaluated by employing the analytic hierarchy process(AHP)on the collected data.As a test case,the conservation strategy of the Medina of Tunis is presented.For a more general conservation model,case-specific data are acquired.Finally,the same framework is applied to compare the case-dependent and case-independent data to define an integrated conservation framework.The obtained results show that the knowledge and data exchange factor,carries the highest significance.This result translates into heritage-led urban regeneration through knowledge sharing and the effective redistribution of cultural activities in historic city centres.

Visual perception on the architectural elements of the built heritage of a historic temple town： A case study of Kumbakonam, India

This paper aims to investigate the changes in the virtual perception on the built heritage at the traditional core setttement of Kumbakonam Town at Tamitnadu and to analyze their implica- tions. Specifically, the major objectives of the study are （1） to identify the architectural elements that manifest the built heritage of Kumbakonam Town and （2） to assess the contMbutions of these elements to the changes in the visuat perception of the town. To achieve these objectives, this study adopts an empirical model that analyzes the architectural elements of the buildings in the study area. Direct observations and documentations of 373 buildings are collected to analyze those etements that contribute to the changes in the visual perception on the built heritage of Kumbakonam Town. An ordinary regression model is used to examine the characteristics of the built heritage across the chariot processional route of the town. Several architectural elements, including pitasters, horizontal cornices, arched windows, and ornamental parapets, improve the image of the town. These empirical findings support the policy framework that enhances the visual perception of Kumbakonam Town.

The Monumentenwacht model for preventive conservation of built heritage:A case study of Monumentenwacht Vlaanderen in Belgium

Monumentenwacht(Monument Watch)is an organization that specializes in the periodic inspection of built heritage to raise awareness among owners and caretakers of the importance of proper maintenance and preventive conservation.It originated in the Netherlands in 1973.It was later established in Belgium,Germany,the UK,Denmark,Hungary,Italy,Slovak,Spain,France,and Portugal in the form of similar organizations and projects with similar aims.The organization promotes the idea of,fprevention is better than cureM by offering periodic inspection,monitoring,and minor urgent repair and writing independent professional inspection reports as a reference for owners and users for further maintenance and conservation activities.This study explores the working mode of Monumentenwacht in Flanders,Belgium,including its historical development,organizational structure,inspection team configuration,professional inspection report,database,reporting system,and technical manuals.A brief analysis of other similar organizations and projects in various European countries is included to reveal efficient ways to promote this model while respecting different cultural,economic,social,legal,and political contexts.

The development and institutional characteristics of China's built heritage conservation legislation

The article reviews comprehensively the emergence and development of China's national legislative system for cultural heritage,with a particular focus on built heritage.It covers the period from the late Qing Dynasty to the present.The antiquity preservation legislation and policies from the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China(ROC)era signify the initial emergence of the state-led legislative system for cultural heritage protection and management.The Interim Regulations on the Conservation and Management of Cultural Heritage,passed in 196o,represent the state's first targeted effort to protect significant historic monuments and sites.The 1982 Cultural Heritage Protection Law(CHPL)established the mechanism for the conservation of Protected Cultural Heritage Sites(PCHS),while the 2008 Regulation on the Conservation of Famous Historic and Cultural Cities,Towns and Villages(RCFHCCTV)defined the principles for the conservation and management of historic cities.China's current jurisdiction for the conservation of cultural heritage is underpinned by legislation such as the CHPL,the Intangible Cultural Heritage Law(ICHL),and the RCFHCCTV.This article analyses the characteristics of the current state legislative system for built heritage conservation and the challenges and constraints regarding urban conservation.It concludes with strategic guidance for improving the legislation for China's built heritage conservation in the present era of rapid economic development and urban regeneration.

Climate change,coastal built heritage,and critical challenges facing the heritage law frameworks of the United States,United Kingdom,and France

Climate change poses a particular threat to the world's unique built heritage-historic buildings,sites monuments,and museums.As preserving built heritage resources from climate change becomes a global priority,understanding the current inadequacies of legal frameworks designed to protect built heritage in coastal areas is essential.Only by identifying and examining these shortfalls can countries create resilient legal policies and tools that better protect coastal built heritage from the immediate and long-term effects of climate change.Building on previous comparative cultural heritage law scholarship,this article describes the legal frameworks that the United States,United Kingdom,and France use to protect their respective built heritage in coastal areas and identifies two critical challengesfacing eachcountry.

Modernised Traditional Lime Plasters for Modern Historic Living of Built Heritage:Case Studies from Germany and Reflection for China

Traditional plasters were generally produced until about the middle of the 20^(th) century.Among traditional plasters,lime plaster in Europe occupies a position of outstanding importance.Plasters play a key role as a protective and decorative outer layer in the care and rehabilitation of the built heritage.To meet the needs for protecting masonry and living in historic buildings in the modern age,traditional lime plasters can be modified to fulfill technical and aesthetic functions.This paper makes an assessment of the use of traditional and modern lime plasters in Germany.The rediscovery of lime plaster as a material for use in cultural heritage conservation has led to the application of traditional and modern plasters along with advanced guidelines and standards for their production and application.In China,a kind of lime-system has recently been developed that is historically and technically compatible with the types used historically;the new types lend itself well to use in modern conservation.

Planetary Urbanisation and the Built Heritage from a Non-Western Perspective: The Question of ‘How' We Should Protect the Past

The process of planetary urbanisation,which is currently affecting a large part of the world,impacts on the existing built environment in an unprecedented way.Its dramatic rapidity often implies the sudden disappearance of traditional urban and rural structures and the rapid transformation of local cultures.Contextually,as never before,attempts to protect culture in its tangible and intangible expressions are increasingly central to international agendas on sustainable urbanisation.However,this is by no means an easy task to achieve.The main reason for the controversy is that the consensus around the need to protect heritage and its tools,as formulated primarily in the Western world in the past,has changed.It has been challenged by alternative,non-Western,primarily non-materialistic views,or it has been delegitimised by the(often)exploitative practice of heritagisation,as a result of the process of protection itself.The main aim of this paper is to reflect on the implications of contemporary planetary urbanisation on the built heritage and its protection,considering that most of this process is taking place in fast-developing countries of Asia,Africa and South America and,at the same time,there is a redistribution of economic(and therefore cultural)power from the West to the East,and from the North to the South of the planet.

Built Heritage and Development: Heritage Impact Assessment of Change in Asia

Built heritage faces increasing pressures and threats from development and change in the contempo­rary world,a situation that frequently results in compromise or loss of historic fabric and its associated values.This paper examines how Heritage Impact Assessment(HIA)methodology specifically addresses and mitigates threats to built heritage within an overall sustainable development framework.The methodology will be explained and exam­ples will be given from across Asia of HIA applications to the urban and rural built environment to illustrate how this can be achieved.These case studies reflect a variety of ways in which development and heritage come into conflict and have been selected to show how versatile and adaptable HIA can be as a tool for finding balance and solutions.HIA is an approach rooted in a balanced and sustainable relationship between‘the needs of the present and future generations and the legacy from the past’(UNESCO 2011).The paper also illuminates some of the basic assumptions on which HIA functions and some of the contradictions that often arise when the methodology is applied to real world problems.

A City between Metamorphosis and Mutation from 19th to 21st Century

Constantine is a big city, particular because of its site and history. But it is especially a city that currently polarizes a huge interest from public authorities, researchers, as well as citizens represented by associations that are militating to safeguard and promote the city. Making Constantine ＂a regional capital, a metropolis＂ is the ambitious urban project of this city authorities. It is a prestigious project, but at the same time, a double-edged sword. With the emergence of this project, a new conception of the city and its image is induced, the one that conjures new canons of urban modernity, with the whole discourse that sustains it and indicators that materialize it. A new attitude toward the current city of Constantine has emerged, from both the authorities and citizens. The inhabitants are continuing in spite of all to invest their city and do not accept that the natural process of appropriation of space may be stopped indefinitely. The author will try to expose the conflict situationof a changing city inside numerous and varied issues, as well as stakes and challenges.

Historical imaginaries, historic urban branding, and the local state in China: rejuvenation discourse, manufactured heritage and simulacrascapes

This intervention examines the extant literature on historical imaginaries and historic urban branding in China.It suggests that while research in this field has increasingly moved away from an economic(or an implicit neo-Marxist)model,there is still a lack of research on the role of broader cultural and state led discourses of nationalism in the construction of historic urban imaginaries and historic urban branding within Chinese cities.In unpacking one nationalistic discourse a-narrative of rejuvenation-this article argues that more needs to be done to examine the role of these themes in the construction of historical imaginaries at the level of the local state(including related state networks of developers,retailers,tourist officials,town planners,architects,and designers).It is suggested that an analysis of these discourses and imaginaries is important if we are:1)to appreciate the role of these themes in the construction and/or the reconfiguration of existing or emerging historic brands within Chinese cities;2)to comprehend the construction of'authorised heritage discourses,(AHDs)practices and materialities at the level of the local state;3)to understand the politics of the past(including the uses of history,memory,nostalgia,and heritage)at the level of the local state;4)to be aware of the way in which these themes inform the preservation,conservation,and/or the demolition of heritage space at the level of the local state;5)to recognise the manufacture of'heritage'or simulacrascapes within Chinese cities.

Tourism and heritage in the enhancement of Tianjin

This article examines what is being promoted about Tianjin’s rich heritage through its tourism and heritage practices.An industrial city traditionally known for its crafts and gastronomy,Tianjin has gradually begun to promote its Chinese heritage and,since the 2000s,its city centre,which is noteworthy for its former foreign concessions and 19th-and 20th-century architectural heritage.After long neglect,the city centre has become a major component in the promotion of the city.Based on the analysis of tourism materials and studies conducted since the mid-2000s,this article first discusses the development of tourism in Tianjin and the chronology and interweaving of the services involved in heritage development.Then,it focuses on the reception of the city’s tourism offerings and on urban development operations in two sectors,Wudadao(or‘Five avenues’),located in the former British Concession,and the‘I-Style Town’in the former Italian Concession.

Defining Local Heritages in Preserving Modern Shanghai Architecture

The notion that local heritage can be defined by the‘collective memory’of a city may be considered as being simplistic nowadays.Heritage is increasingly recognised as knowledge,a cultural product or even a political resource set within specific social circumstances.The local heritage underpins various ways of relating our past with our present and future,which are often much more complicated than we can imagine.The evolution of the conser­vation of Shanghai’s modern heritage architecture shows this complexity.By tracing more than 50 years’progress in historic preservation,this paper shows how historical buildings from Shanghai’s early modern period were selected as urban heritage in the changing socio-political contexts of different time periods.Starting with how the first mod­ern buildings were listed in a new Chinese narrative in the 1950s,this paper focuses on the great ideological changes and progress Shanghai achieved after China’s reform and opening policy since the 1980s.Emphasising the great significance of the establishment of local legislation for historic preservation as an extension of the national system,examples of the great enrichment of Shanghai’s local heritage are presented through multiple narratives and inter­pretations of Shanghai’s modern history.In a deeper observation of various practices and complicated contradic­tions,the historic preservation of Shanghai’s modern heritage architecture is shown to be a process of continuing to reconstruct the relationships between city and the State,the city and the world,as well as the city's past,present and future in a pluralist society.

Physical features and analysis of traditional mosques:the case of Quzzat quarter of Herat Old City,Afghanistan

This study examines the physical features of traditional mosques in the Quzzat(Bardrani)quarter of Herat Old City,Afghanistan.Traditional mosques are constructed with locally available materials and are planned based on cultural and climatic conditions.Mosques are categorised as modern or traditional.Traditional mosques are divided into three subcategories:preserved,damaged(defaced),and transformed.Transformed mosques are formerly traditional mosques reconstructed with modern or industrial materials(concrete and reinforcement).This study explores the distribution of mosques and analyses their plan typology.Mosques are categorised into five plan types,and three relative case studies are described in detail to provide a better understanding and an in-depth analysis of mosque typology.

基于利益相关者分析的传统集市型建成遗产保护——以青岛李村大集为例

In China,the urban construction and development mode is gradually changing from extensive renewal(large-scale demolition and con-struction)to more targeted micro regeneration.Against this backdrop,protection of traditional fairs which have witnessed the emergence and devel-opment of cities needs to be addressed urgently in the process of sustainable urban development.After summarizing the concept of cultural heritage and the international cultural heritage protection process,this paper affirms the value of traditional fairs as a kind of built heritage and proposes a sus-tainability assessment framework for traditional fair built heritage.Through analyzing the stakeholders involved in the traditional fair regeneration process,the paper identifies key stakeholders using Mitchell's score-based approach.From the perspective of stakeholders and taking the Licun Fair in Qingdao City as an example,it puts forward a public participation-based sustainable development and regeneration strategy,providing a reference for the protection and reutilization of traditional fair built heritage in China.

A Methodology for Vulnerability Assessment of Cultural Heritage in Extreme Climate Changes

Vulnerability evaluation plays a key role in risk assessment and reduction and is essential for defining strategies for climate change adaptation and mitigation.In dealing with the safeguarding of cultural heritage at risk,we are still far from adopting and applying an agreed methodology for vulnerability assessment.With the aim to support practitioners,heritage managers,and policy and decision makers to undertake actions that address the protection of cultural heritage at risk,the methodology set up in the framework of the Interreg Central Europe STRENCH is illustrated and discussed here.Based on three major requirements(susceptibility,exposure,and resilience)and a continuous consultation with local stakeholders,the proposed methodology is applicable for evaluating the vulnerability of built heritage and cultural landscape exposed to hydrometeorological hazards,such as heavy rains,floods,and droughts.The results obtained through its validation on 15 case studies from seven Central European regions are shown to underline the strengths and limitations of the methodological approach.Iterative consultation with local stakeholders was fundamental for the definition of the criteria/subcriteria and related values for the assessment of the requirements.Application to further sites in other contexts would surely contribute to strengthening the reliability of the methodological approach.

Degeneration of socio-urban fabric at Yenikapi and proposals for rehabilitation

This paper aimed to discuss urban conservation challenges along the axes of two streets in the neighborhood of Yenikapi leading towards Kumkapi.The Yenikapi area of the historic peninsula of Istanbul is known to have been inhabited since prehistoric times,and it was the site of an important late antiquity port.Many cultural assets,including monuments from a number of periods and nineteenth century houses,remain in the area,but jarring changes have occurred due to newly built constructions,town planning decisions,and the development of public transport.Before any proposal for future area conservation activities,the current state of conservation was inspected through onsite analyses conducted along Pa^azade,imrahor Hamami,and Sepet^i Selim streets.By analyzing the pressures affecting the historical peninsula,the challenges in the conservation effort of the study area were determined,followed by some proposals for its enhancement and general conservation.

Analyses and architectural typology of preserved traditional mosques in the old city of Herat in Afghanistan:the case of Quzzat Quarter

The study aims to analyse the architectural typology and determine the period of construction for the preserved traditional mosques of the Quzzat Quarter in the Old City of Herat(known as the Pearl of Khorasan).Twenty-nine mosques are located in the area,three of which are modern and 26 are traditional.Twelve out of the 26 traditional mosques still exist and have preserved their traditional landscape.Using analogy to analyse water cisterns and mosques,we determine when each mosque was developed and establish the period of development for each structure.Further analyses are carried out on the edifces’architectural details.Architectural analyses and mosque typologies suggest that fve buildings were built before the Timurid dynasty;two were built during the Timurid dynasty(1370−1507 CE);and one was built after the Timurid dynasty.Two mosques incorporating elements from diferent periods are counted as exceptions,and the remaining two are considered to have been built during transitional periods.