COMMUNITY BASED URBAN AREA CONSERVATION LESSONS FROM PAKISTAN

Iranian historic city cores are important parts of modern cities because of their valuable monuments and morphology but are also significant because of their population density, location and the major governmental functions they house. Since 1920, modernisation policies and urban development trends in Iran have justified spatial transformation and redevelopment and the demolition and destruction of traditional urban fabrics as a way to provide contemporary requirements and hygiene improvements for the residents. As the UNESCO recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape argues, historic urban cores can only sustain their role in the daily life of the city by getting prepared for and participating in this transformation process. Disagreement over the value of historic urban cores on the one hand and inevitable modification of urban areas in a developing country like Iran on the other, creates a problematic condition for the preservation of the historic environment. The Valletta Principles for the Safeguarding and Management of Historic Cities, Towns and Urban Areas states that historic towns and urban areas require an integrated approach including their “protection, conservation, enhancement and management as well as their coherent development and their harmonious adaptation to contemporary life”. In order to support the process of reaching a balance between these spatial targets in Iran, this research discusses the relation between urban transformation projects and their heritage context. In doing so it connects international literature on urban quality and traditional Iranian urban forms to contemporary Iranian urban design practice. To achieve this integration between urban heritage and spatial development, a framework of quality attributes has been developed to evaluate urban interventions in a heritage context. The three main pillars of this framework have been extracted from and inspired by international literature and guidelines. Place-making theories have proved to be especially helpful. An analysis of traditional urban forms in Iran and their main characteristics - especially for the urban type of the bazaar – has provided a list of specific and relevant parameters. The framework has been tested by evaluating two case studies in Shiraz that illustrate two different approaches to heritage intervention on an urban level. The outcome has led to modification of the framework and new research questions.

Historic urban areas, shaped by deep historical layers and diverse cultural influences, often exhibit distinctive urban patterns. However, their complex spatial fabric presents challenges to conventional spatial analysis methods, limiting the ability to comprehensively capture their unique morphological and functional characteristics. To address this limitation, this study proposes a comprehensive analytical framework that integrates space syntax models with multisource geospatial data to investigate the spatial patterns of historic urban environments. Using the Yushan Historical and Cultural District in Qingdao, China, as a case study, the study applies visibility graph analysis (VGA) and agent-based simulation (ABS) to examine spatial configurations and pedestrian movement patterns. Additionally, point of interest (POI) data are analysed through kernel density estimation (KDE) to reveal functional distributions. The findings identify zones with strong potential for public gathering and highlight areas requiring improvement, while the proposed strategies provide actionable, context-specific guidelines for urban heritage revitalization. This study demonstrates the value of integrating space syntax with data-driven analytical techniques, offering new insights into quantitative spatial analysis within the framework of urban renewal and heritage conservation.

Urban historical heritage areas serve as vital repositories of urban culture and history, playing a crucial role in cultural inheritance and the promotion of urban development. The protection and development of these heritage areas are essential for preserving the cultural characteristics and architectural styles of cities. Despite the growing body of research, a comprehensive review of the dynamic evolution, research frontiers, and future trajectories in this field remains absent. To bridge this gap, this study draws on the Web of Science Core Collection database, selecting 828 papers published between 2000 and 2024 that focus on urban historical heritage conservation and development. By employing Python programming and network analysis tools, this study conducted a systematic analysis of research structures and trends over the past 25 years. The results indicate that countries such as China and Italy, along with their respective research institutions, are at the forefront of global research in this area. Furthermore, this study identified research hotspots, including historic districts, sustainable urban development, urban regeneration, risk assessment, 3D modeling, digital documentation, and cultural tourism. This research not only discusses the challenges faced in the field but also explores future development trends, providing new theoretical perspectives and practical guidance for subsequent studies.

Conservation of heritage areas is one of the popular topics in many contemporary studies. Historic Cairo is teeming with historical monuments and landmarks that bear witness to an abundance of historical wealth evolved, not only as the historic capital of the Islamic world but as an exquisite, stunning amalgamation of ancient human ingenuity, regardless of Cairo's international and regional historical importance. It is subjected to extreme deterioration due to the rapid change in culture and social patterns. The heritage area conservation plans lack setting top priorities for the highly deteriorated areas that require accelerated preservation intervention, as well as severely overlooking the social aspects of tradition and customs that must be strategically ingrained in the reservation and urban conservation projects. The study assumed that one of the pillars of the reservation and urban regeneration projects was the social aspects. In addition, it aims to develop a methodology for prioritizing reservation and urban conservation areas as per social aspects. The study's findings revealed the significance of ingraining the social aspects into the reservation and urban conservation projects fabric. Furthermore, by setting a prioritizing methodology that ranks the reservation and urban conservation areas according to reservation criteria, the study result was validated against thorough surveys for the targeted conservation areas. In future conservation studies, it is recommended to integrate all (economic, environmental, and political) aspects and assign weighted criteria against each area with adherence to the system. The results should be incorporated into an integrated system that is statistically ranked to prioritize the preservation and urban conservation of the heritage areas.

Urban conservation has drastically changed in theory, in practice, and even its basic definition, over the past 50 years. The definition of urban conservation is not limited to the scope of human society, which has continued to evolve since the 1931 Athens Charter. Historical towns and urban areas, as well as their natural landscapes and residential environments, are also included as subjects of urban conservation. In China, urban conservation is currently of interest to urban designers and city administrators, who are concerned with providing a historical urban identity as well as an authentic urban identity. The historical conservation areas in Beijing have become the most congested areas due to the lack of effective planning control and management, and these areas have gradually became warrens, which have been settled by numerous migrant laborers.

The pressing need to protect archaeological sites amidst rapid urbanization is a global concern. These sites, vital to our cultural heritage, face threats from advancing urban development, especially in historically layered cities. Accurate understanding and contextualization of artifacts from various eras are crucial. Preservation efforts must extend beyond physical continuity and relics to include integration into urban socio-economic and socio-spatial contexts. This holistic approach aids in interpreting layered cities and promoting heritage awareness. This study focuses on the ArchaeoPark initiatives in the Hisar Region, a significant part of Bursa’s cultural landscape. It serves as an example highlighting the importance of preserving archaeological sites and their original artifacts within urban environments. This preservation and display within the city enhance the awareness and understanding of both residents and visitors regarding these valuable cultural assets. Public participation in heritage conservation fosters greater recognition of the importance of these sites, leading to more sustainable preservation efforts. Bursa and its surroundings are key archaeological sites in Anatolia, showcasing a layered urban history. The chosen Hisar region has the potential to unveil this history, becoming a vital cultural heritage area in Bursa. After stressing the importance of urban archaeological heritage conservation, the study delves into pertinent conservation methods. It introduces Bursa as a significant cultural landscape, emphasizing ArchaeoPark activities and excavated artifacts in the Hisar region. Lastly, it offers recommendations to boost the role of Hisar ArchaeoPark in cultural heritage awareness and preservation. This study aims to contribute to efforts focused on increasing cultural heritage awareness, which is a vital aspect of heritage conservation and management, despite being a time-consuming process. The conservation and presentation of archaeological sites within urban areas, exemplified by the ArchaeoPark in the Hisar Region, play a pivotal role in safeguarding our cultural heritage for future generations.

Historic urban landscapes on social media: The contributions of online narrative practices to urban heritage conservation

Bergama'da 1878 de Carl Humann tarafindan arkeolojik kazilarin baslatilmasi ve her gecen gun onemli buluntularin ortaya cikmasi kentin baskin olarak arkeolojik ozellikleriyle anilmasi­ni saglamis ve saglamaktadir. Ornegin 1968 yilina ait imar planinda arkeolo­jik alan uzerinde yer alan geleneksel kent do­kusunun dondurularak gelismesinin kisitlan­masi ve zamanla bu alanlarin bosaltilarak arke­olojik kazilara terk edilmesi ongorulmustur. Antikcag yapilarina verilen onem, diger taraf­tan geleneksel konutlarin muhafazasina do­layli olarak katkida bulunmus; geleneksel ko­nut dokusu altindaki antik kentin zarar gorme­mesi icin, var olan yapilasma dondurulmus; yeni yapilasmalar icin bu alanlar disinda, gele­neksel dokunun guneyinde yeni iskân alanlari acilmistir. 1976 tarihinde Bergama'nin alanlari ve sinirlari Gayrimenkul Eski Eserler ve Anitlar Yuksek Kurulunca (GEEAYK) tescil edilmistir. ilani kararini takiben, Berga­ma'nin antik Pergamon kentinin kalintilari uze­rinde gelismis belli alanlari, korunmasi gerekli kentsel dokuya sahip olmasi nedeniyle ve Arkeolojik olarak 1983 yilin­da tescil edilmis ve 1984'te tekrar degerlendi­rilmistir, Bergama gibi cok katmanli kentlerde, tanimi konana kadar gecen surede, kurullari tarafindan yanlis ka­rarlarin alinmasinin yani sira tereddutler, dola­yisiyla karar uretememe durumlari soz konu­su olmustur. Bu tikaniklik, SIT tanimindan 20 yil sonra 1993'te Kultur ve Tabiat Varliklari Koruma Yuksek Kurulunun ilke kararindaki tanimi ve ko­sullarinin belirlenmesiyle asilmistir. Bergama'da da koruma amacli imar planina kadar gecerli olacak gecis donemi yapilas­ma kosullari m belirleyen karar, ilanindan 18 yil sonra, 2001 yilinda kentin bu alanlarinin, Izmir 2 numarali Kultur ve Tabiat Varliklari Koruma Kurulunca Kentsel Arkeolo­jik olarak ilan edilmesiyle alinmistir. Bu karara gore Bergama kenti alanlari. Kent­sel SIT, 1. derece SIT, 2. derece ve 3. derece olarak tanimlanmistir. Bu kararlar sonucunda, alani icinde yer atan evler, onarim dahi yapilamayan, harap an­cak ozgun yapilar olarak gunumuze ulasmistir. Kentin guneyinde yeni yapilasma alanlarinin olusturulmasindan sonra, alani icindeki geleneksel dokuda, evlerini birakmak isteme­yen, apartman yasamina uyum saglayamayan ve eski komsuluk iliskilerini surdurmek iste­yen yasli nufus kalmistir. Bu geleneksel doku­nun diger kullanicilari ise civar koylerden gelip buraya yerlesen dusuk gelir grubuna ait kulla­nicilardir. kultur varliklari envanter calismasiyla kentte harap fakat ozgun olarak gunumuze ulasmis onemli sayida konut oldugu, pek cok konutun enderlik degeri tasidigi ortaya kon­mustur. Bergama (izmir) Kultur Varliklari En­vanter Projesinin ucuncu ve son donem calis­masi 6-17 Eylul 2005 tarihlerinde Bergama da gerceklestirilen alan calismasiyla tamamlan­mistir. Pek cok uygarligi iceren, cok katmanli bir kent olan Bergama'da, sinirlan ve tanimi, bu envanter calismasi­nin basladigi 2003 yilindaki degisiklikler disin­da, Mart 2004 te izmir 2 numarali Kultur ve Ta­biat Varliklari Koruma Kurulunda alinan kararla, Kentsel + 3. derece olarak degistirilmis ve sinin guneye, Gazipasa Mahal­lesine dogru genisletilmistir (lev. 1: sek. 1). Kultur Varliklarinin yer aldigi mahalle­ler, Bergama Cayinin kuzeyindeki alanda Ulu-cami, Talatpasa, Kurtulus mahalleleri, Berga­ma Cayinin guneyinde ise Selcuk, Barbaros, Atmaca, Islamsaray, Turabey, Inkilâp, Gazipa­sa, Ertugrul ve Zafer mahalleleridir. 2005 yilin­da, Bergama Cayinin kuzeyinde Talatpasa ve Kurtulus mahallelerinde, Bergama Cayinin gu­neyinde ise Selcuk, Atmaca, islamsaray, Tu­rabey, Inkilâp, Gazipasa, Ertugrul ve Zafer ma­hallelerinde envanter calismasi gerceklestiril­mistir (lev. 2: sek. 2). Bergama Kuttur Varliktan Envanteri yapilirken calisma alanimizin sinirlan (lev. 1: sek. 1), Kultur ve Tabiat Varliklari Koruma Ku­rulu tarafindan onaylanmis sinirlari disinda, eski yerlesim dokusunu gosteren belgelerden de yararlanilarak belir­lenmistir. Bergama'da 2005 yilinda. 2003 ve 2004 yilla­rinda gerceklestirilen alan calismalarinda oldu­gu gibi Bergama Cayinin iki yakasinda, iki ayri grup tarafindan catisma gerceklestirilmistir. 6-17 Eylul 2005 tarihleri arasinda 7 kisilik ekip­le toplam 100 yapi adasinda calisilmis, 713'u anit olmak uzere, 814 adet envanter formu hazirlanmistir. 102 yapinin plan krokisi yapil­mis, 4440 adet dijital fotograf cekilmistir. Boy­lece 2003 yilindan itibaren, uc yillik envanter calismasi sonucunda 160'i yerlesme, 1501'i anit envanteri olmak uzere, toplam 1661 adet envanter formu hazirlanmis, 390 adet plan krokisi yapilmis ve 9718 adet dijital fotograf cekilmistir. kultur varliktan envanter calismasin­da, konutlarin yapim tarihleri ve mimari ozel­likleri bir arada degerlendirildiginde Berga­ma'daki konut mimarisinin gelisim sureci or­taya cikmaktadir. 2005 yilina ait alan calisma­sinda, nitelikli ve korunmaya deger Cumhuri­yet devri konut yapilarinin, onceki yillarda cali­silan alanlardakinden daha yogun olarak yer aldigi saptanmistir. Geleneksel kent dokusunun yeni yapilasma alanlariyla birlestigi yerdeki yogun yok edilisi­ne bagli olarak, kultur varligi sayisi azaldigin­dan, Bergama kentsel kultur varliklari evanteri ongorulenden daha once tamamlanmis bu­lunmaktadir. Envanteri yapilan kultur varliklari sayisi, mevcut tescilli yapi sayisinin yaklasik uc katidir. Bergama kentsel kultur varliklari envanteri dogrultusunda, alanlarinin bo­yutlarinda ve niteliklerinde degisiklikler yapil­masi gerekecektir. 2003 yilinda baslayan Bergama kentsel kultur varliklari envanter calismasi 2004 yilinda de­vam etmis ve 2005 yilinda sonuclanmistir. En­vanterlerin Kultur-Kitap veritabanina aktaril­masi ise 2006 yilinda tamamlanmistir.

<p class="Abstract"><em>Urban conservation plays a siginificant part in urban design to develop historical quarter, in which sense of place theory can be applied. Kampung Arab Pasar Kliwon, an ethnic cultural quarter in Surakarta, is the case of this urban conservation study. It’s chosen due to the city goverment’s neglect on the development of the heritage area. The conservation includes living heritages in the area, which allows the place to be designated as living museum. This study rises a question on the concept of Kampung Arab Pasar Kliwon conservation, using sense of place theory, on desigining living museum. Answer to the stated issue is enhancing the activity, physical setting, and image in urban area and heritage buildings. Research method used in this study is qualitative-study case. On the street, sense of place is utilised to enhance economic activity, street life activity, cultural activity, and educational activity through urban physical element. In the heritage building, sense of place acts to preserve existing activities and develop or add new activities, room atmosphere, and building exterior. The built physical elements, accommodating the existing and new activities, are designed to conjure particular images (legibility, knowledgibility, and psychological access) through conservation actions (preservation, reconstruction, and infill).</em><em></em></p><p class="Keywords"><strong><em>Keywords</em></strong><em>: living museum, kampung Arab, Pasar Kliwon, urban conservation, sense of place.</em><em></em></p>

Solitary and primitively eusocial bees, an important group of pollinators, have declined in the past few decades. In view of the recent focus on safeguarding pollinating insects, it is vital to understand the basic ecology of species for their conservation, for example their phenologies. We observed the flight periods of solitary and primitively eusocial bees in both the urban core of a large British town and nearby nature conservation areas. The bee surveys were conducted with standardised methods, on warm sunny days from the first appearance of bees in March 2012 and continued until October 2012. This study confirmed that a high number of species are active in the spring season. The emergence dates of species in urban areas and nature sites varied; about 26 of the 35 species were recorded at least one week earlier in urban areas; in contrast, only four species were seen earlier in nature conservation sites. When comparing this with the expected flight periods recorded (largely in nature sites) in the literature, many species were recorded at their expected time. However, a few individuals were recorded after their usual flight activity time, suggesting that the populations were possibly affected by the microclimate in urban areas. More urban phenological data are needed to understand the phenological trends in bees in urban habitats.

In this chapter, we critically explore the evolution of urban conservation as a component of urban planning and governance. While built heritage governance has traditionally been dominated by a positivist epistemological perspective emphasising professional knowledge and intrinsic properties, conservation as an element within urban planning also intersects with wider societal values. These tend to be rooted in non-expert experiential knowledge, associative attributes such as symbolism, collective memories, place-attachment and place-identity, or manifest as nostalgia, and interconnected with intangible heritage. In this context, urban planning provides a key arena for regulating and mediating diverse heritage values. This chapter therefore explores the relationship between urban planning and conservation, charting key policy shifts, for example: from a focus on individual buildings towards the historic urban landscape (HUL); from top-down expert approaches to participatory methods; and from viewing conservation as a 'cost' to promoting heritage assets as an economic opportunity. The chapter examines key planning instruments for managing urban heritage, developing a policy typology comprising traditional regulatory tools, design-led frameworks, market-based instruments and deliberative models to explore heritage meaning and values. The chapter concludes by considering future directions in planning for urban conservation, reflecting on the tensions between exploiting and protecting heritage through urban planning.

<p>Climate change is one of the biggest challenges that our planet is currently facing. From seasonal shifts in climate, with droughts, heatwaves, floods and storms<strong>,</strong> the impacts of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale. Cities are heavily affected by the climate change consequences, with most of Europe’s population living in cities and urban areas and projections for 2050 predicting even larger shares (Nabielek, Hamers, & Evers, 2016). At the same time, cities generate up to 80% of a country’s GDP (United Nations Human Settlements Programme, 2011), but also consume 75% of the natural resources and account for 60-80% of greenhouse gas emissions. That is, urbanisation and cities’ economic growth are the biggest contributors to climate change.</p><p>Heritage, as a sensitive and valuable element of the living environment, is being affected by the increase in frequency and intensity of climate-related events, posing new challenges and needs to conservators and heritage managers. But improving the resilience of the historic urban districts, adapting to urbanisation, climate change, and other social, economic, and security trends is a challenging endeavour for cities and prone to potential conflicts of interest. It requires managing tasks like accommodating a growing – and in many cases aging – population, providing the required services, fostering social, environmental, and economic sustainability, and keeping the city liveable and attractive. But a liveable, sustainable, and, above all, resilient city is not just a product of organised and well-functioning services; other crucial elements are the places that make up the city, along with their communities. Sites of significant cultural and historical value and significance have an important role to play in fostering location-based identity and social cohesion. With the increased recognition of the threats that heritage faces from climate change, but also the role heritage can play in driving climate actions, all those connected to heritage face both a profound opportunity and a challenging responsibility. (ICOMOS Climate Change and Cultural Heritage Working Group, 2019)</p><p>As a response to these threats, a bridge is needed to fill the gap between urban development, resilience planning, and heritage management to boost collaboration among all involved stakeholders and make our cities more climate neutral and resilient. This should be based on a vision to stimulate and promote development for wider adoption of solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation in historic urban districts. This process will promote constructive dialogue, development, and exchange of best practices for achieving better integration between resilient urban planning and heritage management. Moreover, it will aim to increase awareness of the role of historic areas – with their unique value and importance – play in stimulating the general public to actively contribute to coordinated efforts on climate resilience in accordance with protection and preservation of heritage both within local environments as well as nationally and internationally.</p><p>In the long-term, the goal is to make historic urban districts and their communities climate neutral and resilient, but also branch out to issues of contemporary urban districts to build and nurture more synergies.</p>

Editors’ introduction: Recent developments in urban heritage valuation: Concepts, methods and policy application

The narrative of Indian industrialization is unique, a country that is both industrializing and de-industrializing simultaneously and that is struggling in the discovery of its own identity within the myriad political, ethnic, social and economic discourses. The massive push given to industry in this contemporary era has a definitive impact on the urban landscape. The contemporary political economy is in the process of disinvestment of State assets, which are cornerstones of the narratives of Indian industrialization, their loss and comprehensive redevelopment have a significant impact on place identity in urban areas. While the idea of urban heritage conservation is very nascent, the concept of industrial heritage conservation is largely non-existent in India. The industrial timeline of India is different from the global timeline; the lack of an official definition, and therefore a lack of an official legislation, for recognition and legal protection of industrial sites in India has an impact on the perception of what constitutes Indian industrial heritage. Most industrial heritage sites are vulnerable to loss or replacement on the pretext of being considered too ordinary to be preserved. This article presents a chronological narrative of industrialization and defines a framework for identifying typologies of industrial heritage sites in the Indian context, building a case for recognizing, protecting and sustainable development.

Urban conservation has been a subject of academic and professional discourse for over three decades. In Fez medina, urban conservation is linked to urban redevelopment and thereby represents a significant component of urban design with respect to sustainability. The best practice and the constraints and difficulties of the Fez medina sustainable conservation are addressed in this paper, based on observation and a system dynamic approach to describe and analyze the urban heritage safeguarding process, its stages and components during the last thirty-five years. The overall rehabilitation strategy for this historical area is to alleviate the constraints through a sustainable conservation program, especially the historic housing stock, the social development, the historic monuments and the urban environment including the architecture heritage, which could not be launched without seeking adequate tools (institutional, financial and technical) for its implementation. ADER-Fez, the Agency for the Dedensification and Rehabilitation of Fez Medina, places stakeholder participation at the core of its implementation strategy, including social animation and social participation in housing rehabilitation, and sets a program of emergency intervention on historic monuments and buildings, housing units threatening collapse and on infrastructure and urban facilities, with two concerns: the safety of the human lives and the safeguarding of cultural heritage and traditional constructions of architectural quality adapted to the requirements of modern life.