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Abstract Be it the 1873 World’s Fair in Vienna, which established the city's status as a link between the Occident and Orient, or the very first Great Exhibition in 1851 in London, which showcased the then British empire to a global public and the world to its domestic visitors. World’s fairs have been and are still an indispensable part of a shared human history as well as an indicator of a country's economic and cultural relevance on a global scale. They are undoubtedly politically motivated drivers of collective memories and, in turn, nation-building processes. This is why they are not only publicly discussed and thoroughly documented in archives but also often manifested in buildings that long outlast these events and themes but continue to tell their tales. This article elaborates on the ways in which world’s fairs (or expos) have been used as catalysts to develop cities and how they themselves – though ephemeral phenomena – ultimately found their way into urban landscapes and historiography. Moreover, based on his own empirical studies on the last two expos of Shanghai (2010) and Milan (2015), the author elaborates on the placemaking procedures that precede and follow these mega-events, reflecting on the ensuing public discourse to (de)legitimate them, its limitations, and effects on the urban legacy of the aforementioned expos. He then presents an overarching discussion on their built heritage.

Abstract Pangani is a historic coastal Swahili town situated at the mouth of the Pangani River, which empties its waters into the Indian ocean. Archaeologists have traced the origins of this town back to the seventh century through evidence from material cultures found in this area. Despite its historical importance and archaeological interest, Pangani faces substantial conservation and management challenges, primarily due to low awareness levels among its local community. These residents are largely unaware of the town’s historical value and of the impact of factors such as climate change, stone quarrying, wave erosion, and development pressures, so effective conservation plans are lacking. In finding the best practices for managing and conserving this historic town, a critical question remains as to how to rescue the town's significance and value from these challenges. This paper proposes a gazettement approach for managing and conserving Pangani, emphasising a bottom-up approach that involves local communities and other stakeholders in the conservation process.

Abstract Purpose Interventions are essential for the management of built heritage because they extend the lifespan of buildings and enable them to be enjoyed by multiple generations. International organisations and institutions, such as UNESCO and ICOMOS, have adopted doctrinal documents over time, stimulating best practices in built heritage management worldwide. Although these documents are often referenced in academic work, they are seldom systematically researched. Which interventions are referenced or omitted? Are they defined? What trends are noted in the understanding of best practices as interventions? Design/methodology/approach This research consists of a systematic content analysis of nine international doctrinal documents, which were selected from nearly seventy international doctrinal documents—mainly adopted by UNESCO and ICOMOS. The main aim is to reveal and compare the concepts used for reference interventions and further use the definitions to reveal and discuss the relationships between them. The trends of these interventions being used were determined based on the frequency of mentions per intervention term in the selected documents. Findings Regarding the definition of the intervention concepts, there are three main findings. First, instead of being treated as a single concept, ‘conservation’ has been presented as an umbrella concept for other interventions and thus has been the most popular concept since the first version (1992) of the New Zealand Charter was implemented. In contrast, ‘preservation’ remains a single concept, among the highest scales, to maintain the integrity of built heritage, including use. Second, ‘repair’ was found to play a paradoxical role between ‘restoration’ and ‘reconstruction’, which created divergent opinions in the documents. Third, since the notions of ‘use’ have expanded from the functions of monuments (International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites: The Venice Charter, 1964) to the ‘associations of places’ (The Burra Charter: The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance, with associated Guidelines and Code on the Ethics of Co-existence, 1999; The Burra Charter: The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance, 2013), which include activities, traditional habits, accessibility, etc., the complexity of mentioning different forms of ‘use’ has led to some (re)interventions, such as ‘adaptation’, ‘adaptive reuse’, and ‘rehabilitation’, being put into grey areas and used interchangeably. Originality This research advances the current understanding of intervention concepts and their relationships, as well as differences and similarities in definitions.

Be it the 1873 World’s Fair in Vienna, which established the city's status as a link between the Occident and Orient, or the very first Great Exhibition in 1851 in London, which showcased the then British empire to a global public and the world to its domestic visitors. World’s fairs have been and are still an indispensable part of a shared human history as well as an indicator of a country's economic and cultural relevance on a global scale. They are undoubtedly politically motivated drivers of collective memories and, in turn, nation-building processes. This is why they are not only publicly discussed and thoroughly documented in archives but also often manifested in buildings that long outlast these events and themes but continue to tell their tales. This article elaborates on the ways in which world’s fairs (or expos) have been used as catalysts to develop cities and how they themselves – though ephemeral phenomena – ultimately found their way into urban landscapes and historiography. Moreover, based on his own empirical studies on the last two expos of Shanghai (2010) and Milan (2015), the author elaborates on the placemaking procedures that precede and follow these mega-events, reflecting on the ensuing public discourse to (de)legitimate them, its limitations, and effects on the urban legacy of the aforementioned expos. He then presents an overarching discussion on their built heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pangani is a historic coastal Swahili town situated at the mouth of the Pangani River, which empties its waters into the Indian ocean. Archaeologists have traced the origins of this town back to the seventh century through evidence from material cultures found in this area. Despite its historical importance and archaeological interest, Pangani faces substantial conservation and management challenges, primarily due to low awareness levels among its local community. These residents are largely unaware of the town's historical value and of the impact of factors such as climate change, stone quarrying, wave erosion, and development pressures, so effective conservation plans are lacking. In finding the best practices for managing and conserving this historic town, a critical question remains as to how to rescue the town's significance and value from these challenges. This paper proposes a gazettement approach for managing and conserving Pangani, emphasising a bottom-up approach that involves local communities and other stakeholders in the conservation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Interventions are essential for the management of built heritage because they extend the lifespan of buildings and enable them to be enjoyed by multiple generations. International organisations and institutions, such as UNESCO and ICOMOS, have adopted doctrinal documents over time, stimulating best practices in built heritage management worldwide. Although these documents are often referenced in academic work, they are seldom systematically researched. Which interventions are referenced or omitted? Are they defined? What trends are noted in the understanding of best practices as interventions? Design/methodology/approach: This research consists of a systematic content analysis of nine international doctrinal documents, which were selected from nearly seventy international doctrinal documents—mainly adopted by UNESCO and ICOMOS. The main aim is to reveal and compare the concepts used for reference interventions and further use the definitions to reveal and discuss the relationships between them. The trends of these interventions being used were determined based on the frequency of mentions per intervention term in the selected documents. Findings: Regarding the definition of the intervention concepts, there are three main findings. First, instead of being treated as a single concept, 'conservation' has been presented as an umbrella concept for other interventions and thus has been the most popular concept since the first version (1992) of the New Zealand Charter was implemented. In contrast, 'preservation' remains a single concept, among the highest scales, to maintain the integrity of built heritage, including use. Second, 'repair' was found to play a paradoxical role between 'restoration' and 'reconstruction', which created divergent opinions in the documents. Third, since the notions of 'use' have expanded from the functions of monuments (International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites: The Venice Charter, 1964) to the 'associations of places' (The Burra Charter: The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance, with associated Guidelines and Code on the Ethics of Co-existence, 1999; The Burra Charter: The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance, 2013), which include activities, traditional habits, accessibility, etc., the complexity of mentioning different forms of 'use' has led to some (re)interventions, such as 'adaptation', 'adaptive reuse', and 'rehabilitation', being put into grey areas and used interchangeably. Originality: This research advances the current understanding of intervention concepts and their relationships, as well as differences and similarities in definitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract 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.

Abstract 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.

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract 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.

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract 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 1960, 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.

Abstract 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.

Abstract Traditional plasters were generally produced until about the middle of the 20th 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.

Abstract 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.

Abstract 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.