A Regenerative Framework for Urban Interventions in Heritage Sites

Abstract

Heritage sites are 'pieces of art,’ a non-renewable source of significance to the city. Its urban fabric displays continuity and differentiation, affected by time, social, economic, and environmental aspects of different development ages. Several organizations have given great attention to setting Agendas and key principles to conserve many Heritage sites, e.g., UNESCO, ICOMOS, NGO'S, etc.......… Not only do problems occur when interventions change or eliminate a physical part of the urban fabric, affecting the integrity of the social and cultural value of the heritage sites. But ongoing and future developments threaten the authenticity of the heritage sites as a significant part of the city's history and future existence. Several types of this development are affected by the growing needs, e.g., climatic change, mass tourism, digital simulation, etc... Consequently, this intimidates the heritage site to be responding and resilient when addressing regenerative development and sustainability. Hence, the importance of this research lies in devising a regenerative framework for assessing the urban interventions in heritage sites. This framework is set on a theoretical basis of reviewing guidelines for dealing with heritage sites and the key principles of regenerative development on the other hand. This is followed by the analysis of varied case studies of the best practices of regenerative development. This theoretical base sets the first layer of the regenerative framework to be assessed in the following empirical research. The framework parameters are verified and evaluated upon a local case study through a qualitative approach where findings are confirmed in the urban realm. This results in recommendations for key players and actors in the conservation plans of heritage sites for attaining regenerative development.