VIRTUAL Barcelona

Abstract

The preservation and sustainable management of a historical city centre is a multi-layered task. The key issues in the context of the UNESCO-listed Tallinn Old Town were identified and some possible solutions proposed within the research project “Tallinn Old Town: Sustainable Management and Presentation” conducted in the Estonian Art Academy from 2019 to 2022. We suggested that the Old Town should be developed as one part of the active city centre of Tallinn, not a separate tourist destination. The main role of the local government should be supporting the preservation of local life and functional diversity: retaining living and working spaces, activities and services oriented towards local people, and the Old Town’s overall quality as a living environment. Also, the need for more active community participation in taking decisions about the neighbourhood was highlighted. Designing the new management plan for Tallinn Old Town is a possibility to implement some of the research results. The participation process has revealed interesting controversies not only between the expectations between different stakeholders, but also between theory and practice. The main question risen is about the sensible scope of regulations in the city center as a whole and the limits of heritage preservation within them. Should the management plan involve the protection of all or some parts of the buildings, could the issues with traffic, noise, energy efficiency, accessibility or even garbage management be seen as part of heritage preservation? This presentation gives an insight into the controversies and ongoing discussions in Tallinn.