IN-PERSON: Prague – Section A

Abstract

Liveable heritage, is not a commonly used phrase, and there is little extant research about the relationship between the two concepts of heritage and liveability Creating a liveable city is now a common policy aspiration, especially for cities wanting to get into the highest international city rankings. In general such policy initiatives aim to improve economic outcomes, attract tourism, and focus on infrastructure projects. The idea of heritage as part of liveability is often secondary to such interests, if it is addressed at all, even in the context of evident heritage value at the urban scale. Heritage sites within rapidly developing urban settings are too often seen as problematic, rather than as an opportunity largely because the relationship between the two has been little researched. This paper presents the findings of a systematic review of academic and other literature, to determine the current extent and nature of policy makers grasp of this relationship. The paper makes it clear that the concept of liveability has been seen through many lenses and has taken on various roles, but the intention in this review presented here has been to study liveability from the perspective of heritage value, as critically interpreted. The review is intended to provide a theoretical underpinning of empirical research on how heritage is an important if unacknowledged indicator of liveability, which in turn will examine the extent to which heritage conservation and management might enhance liveability if properly appreciated as a dimension of placemaking.