Routledge Companion to Global Heritage Conservation

This exciting addition to the literature on what, how, and why we preserve cultural resources and the tangible manifestations of history has extraordinary reach across intellectual and physical realms. Heritage conservation, or historic preservation, has been undergoing a radical rethinking globally, because of new contexts (climate change, population shifts, social and economic inequality, the rise of populism…) and new understandings of the ethical implications of existing theory, policy, and practice. The essays in this volume leap forcefully into these debates, using case studies from two dozen countries, and bringing the insights of an impressive array of new voices—both practitioners and scholars—to the conversation. The authors address a wide range of difficult and challenging issues that confront practitioners in heritage conservation, along with a broad diversity of sites, from indigenous habitats to war zones, classic landmarks to industrial compounds. Meanwhile, the editors have placed these explorations into a rich intellectual framework of themes and conceptual dualities that reveal the polarized discourse Bharne and Sandmeier see as heritage conservation today. The result is a provocative, stimulating, and profoundly useful text. Jeffrey M. Chusid Chair, Department of City and Regional Planning Associate Professor, Historic Preservation Planning Program College of Architecture, Art and Planning Cornell University This volume may well exceed heritage conservation to also be a guide of design consideration of projects throughout urban settings. It will be an essential reference for those who have just become curious about conservation because of an issue nearby, for those learning in college about ""what is conservation anyway,"" and for those in professional practices who properly struggle with the complex range of conservation problems and opportunities at home and abroad. Having this volume available will help us work our way more regularly to public acceptance and cultural delight, extending heritage conservation globally. Robert S. Harris, FAIA, Hon. ASLA Emeritus Professor of Architecture University of Southern California There are three seemingly obvious but often overlooked aspects of what makes a city so vital and vibrant: the city belongs to all of us; the city is combination of old and new; and the city is global. This book embraces all these crucial aspects of heritage conservation in the urban context, which is an issue at the forefront of the 21st century: What do we value as worth conserving? How do we do it and for whose benefit? None of these of questions have easy answers, but this welcome addition to the literature enables – and indeed, empowers – us to reconsider heritage conservation by paying close attention to pressing local challenges in an increasingly global context. In this regard, the scope of the book is breathtaking, taking us Bali to Jerusalem Los Angeles to Shanghai and beyond, while addressing a wide range of issues - from cultural landscapes to industrial heritage to earthquakes to military infrastructure. For those who may be new to the topic, the introductory chapter itself is a brief yet excellent overview of the major themes in the field. Perhaps this book’s most significant contribution is in the ways it reaches far beyond the usual aesthetics and materiality of the objects to be conserved and critically examines relatively invisible aspects such as the underlying perceptions, approaches, and values that actually drive global heritage conservation yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Professor Aseem Inam, Chair in Urban Design, Cardiff University