Developing historic cities: keys for understanding and taking action, a compilation of 40 case studies

This compilation of 40 case studies on the conservation and management of historic cities is now available in hard copy format, in English, French and Spanish.

The compilation is available online in three languages: English, French and Spanish.

This compilation of case studies on the conservation and management of historic cities Developing historic cities: keys for understanding and taking action project has been initiated by the Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC) following a proposal by the City of Lyon which coordinated the project, put together in partnership with the Council of Europe, the Getty Conservation Institute and ICOMOS, represented by its International Scientific Committee CIVVIH, and lastly the World Heritage Centre and the France-UNESCO Cooperation Agreement.

The purpose of this compilation of case studies is to encourage cities and World Heritage sites to share their practices and issues in a concrete way, as well as to reinforce the importance of taking heritage values into account as an initial step in urban development projects.

Based on data provided by the contributing cities, this publication provides a comprehensive analysis of the issues and governance and urban management know-how. In the second part, to allow a comparative analysis, the 40 case studies are presented and summarized and standardized in 4-page fact sheets.

This publication was prepared thanks to the generosity of the French government, Ministry of Culture and Communication, the Department of European and International affairs, Directorate general of cultural heritage and the France-UNESCO Cooperation Agreement. The English translation was made possible thanks to the generous support of the council of Europe, Directorate of Democratic Governance, Culture and Diversity.