Integration of Urban Conservation and Urban Regeneration:Local Heritage Matters

Abstract

All developed and many developing countries have long established concepts of urban conservation, which are the basis of the preservation and restoration of historic buildings and neighbourhoods. Since the early1990s these specialised concepts have been increasingly integrated with evolving concepts of sustainable urban regeneration, as governments have embraced the goal of planning for sustainable urban development. Most recently concepts of sustainable urban conservation are developing a climate change dimension as more sharply defined policies for climate change mitigation emphasise reducing carbon emissions from cities' building stock and transport systems. Drawing on English experience, this dynamic process is conceptualised as progress towards sustainable urban conservation. This conceptualisation is then applied to analyse the evolution of urban conservation in Istanbul, with particular reference to the Historic Peninsula. The paper concludes that this conceptual and policy dynamic has the potential to provide the basis for 2151 century sustainable urban conservation which delivers a variable mix of social, economic and environmental outcomes.