Current Trends in Urban Heritage Conservation: Medieval Historic Arab City Centers

Traditional conservation efforts did not improve the conditions in most historic urban centers of Arab cities. The internationally adopted shift in historic urban conservation grants better urban vitality and sustainability for these areas. This study investigates the existing trends and forthcoming changes in urban conservation and their implication on historical centers. Urban Heritage Conservation UHC trends were reviewed, conservation parameters were defined, and quality aspects of successful historic urban conservation were identified, and an assessment framework was developed to evaluate the resulting conserved urban heritage. Two case studies of Arab cities, Jeddah and Aman, were analyzed. The findings highlight the most common urban issues such as reusing historic buildings, traffic congestion, and lack of funds. The impact of urban management on historic areas’ quality was revealed. Moreover, the paper ends with recommendations for conservation authorities. These include engaging residents in the conservation efforts, adopting more innovative traffic solutions to ease congestions, turning the historic area into a pedestrian-friendly space, attracting visitors through arranging cultural events, creating new job opportunities through heritage, and improving the image of the areas through urban regulations. The paper’s findings would contribute to the knowledge related to Urban Heritage Conservation (UHC), and its recommendations would help practitioners and decision-makers.

WAYS OF ARCHITECTURAL REVALUATION OF ARCHITECTURAL SUBSTANCE IN THE HISTORICAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE CITY

The multifaceted problem of the relationship between the old and the new in the structure of cities subject to reconstructive transformation covers not only the range of tasks for the integration of historically composed and new buildings, but also a number of ambiguous issues of architectural revaluation of historical architectural and urban planning substance. lost elements to improve the aesthetic value of the urban environment and further preserve its integrity. If the solution of issues of urban coherence of historical and new buildings is based on the variability of the respective location in the urban structure of urban formation, the ways of architectural revaluation are based on the principles of volumetric and tectonic perfection of historical substance. ensembles, often by means of finely tempered harmonization of old and new architectural solutions (Hereditary development of compositional and spatial features of the city center). European urbanism of the twentieth century. He also knows cases of architectural revaluation of large urban complexes, such as in the process of restoration after the military destruction of the historic areas of Warsaw and Gdansk, where the problem of restoring the architectural integrity of buildings was combined with issues of restoration, reconstruction, modernization and necessary rehabilitation. on the legitimacy of such revaluation measures, which were not based on the restoration of authentic historical heritage, but in fact on its reproduction "from the ground up", based not only on scientifically sound materials, but often on architectural conjecture, method of analogues, etc. The controversy over the architectural revaluation of historic buildings began in the late nineteenth century, when the issues of conservation and restoration in a set of reconstructive urban planning tasks began to require immediate resolution. Renowned British art critic John Ruskin, reacting sharply to the imperfections of restoration work that led to significant distortions and even distortions of valuable historical substance in various countries, said: «Reproduction from nothing of something that was once great and beautiful in architecture is as impossible as return to life…» (Рёскин 81–82).

Service Facilities in Heritage Tourism: Identification and Planning Based on Space Syntax

Improving the development level of tourism service facilities in historic areas of old cities and realizing the sustainable tourism are important strategies for urban historical protection, economic development, and cultural rejuvenation. Districts at different tourism development stages show different characteristics of tourism service facilities. This study collects location-based service data and uses space syntax to identify the correlation between the distribution of tourism service facilities and street networks, which helps decision-makers to optimize the spatial layout of tourism facilities in the planning of historic areas. Taking the southern historic area of Nanjing, China, as an example, this is an area with a rich collection of cultural heritage and many historic districts, and the study reveals that the areas with strongest street agglomeration and best accessibility, as well as the districts with most mature tourism development, are the core of the tourism facilities. The agglomeration of transportation and accommodation facilities should be set at the traffic nodes as much as possible due to the highest correlation with the street network. Instead, the entertainment, catering, and shopping facilities can be set in the nontraffic node areas under the premise of ensuring good traffic accessibility owing to the insignificantly relationship with the street network. The research results can be used as an important reference for urban decision-makers regarding the planning of historic areas.

The Standardization Process as a Chance for Conceptual Refinement of a Disaster Risk Management Framework: The ARCH Project

Risks related to climate change and natural hazards increasingly affect urban areas such as historic towns, old urban quarters, villages, and hamlets. These, as well as historic landscapes, make up a significant part of an urban area’s identity and cannot just be rebuilt or significantly changed without taking into account the historic value, cultural background, and prescribed regulations. Systematic resilience building for historic areas is becoming essential, and research supporting it will be in the spotlight. However, questions still exist concerning how to best transfer research results into practice at the community level. Standardization of resilience-enhancing methods and tools deriving from research projects is one option, chosen, e.g., for the EU-Horizon 2020 project ARCH. Within the project, a disaster risk management (DRM) framework has been composed and then transferred into a standard, supported by a co-creation approach involving relevant stakeholders. This article outlines the project’s different standardization steps and its impact on the development of the ARCH DRM Framework. It highlights the systematic inclusion of project-external stakeholders who actively contribute to the validation and enhancement of the ARCH DRM framework to guarantee maximum applicability in historic areas, supporting them in their fight against the impacts of climate change and natural hazards.

The Management of Architectural Heritage Resources

The management of historic buildings is achieved through several types of interventions. The interventions are established in relation to the degree of protection through the List of Historical Monuments, or through its intrinsic value mentioned by the preliminary studies. In principle, within a historical area, cultural values ​​can be exceptional, high, medium and null. Safeguarding historic areas is considered fundamental to the local culture of each settlement. The patrimony of a community represents the accumulation of experiences, of crafts and arts, of its development. Heritage is the legacy left to future generations. Therefore, any intervention in a protected area must be subject to the rules for the protection of the original substance and valuable compositional elements. Another important goal is focused on managing the concept of built value. Thus, it must be borne in mind that any cultural objective must be doubled by a certain value of use. Any space that requires preservation will be better maintained if used. Consequently, the management of cultural value, involves the management of functions, strategies for establishing development directions. This balance can be ensured through intervention regulations that can provide for permitted, conditional and prohibited uses. In the article we present the ways in which interventions on historical monuments can be managed. The main professional concepts must be supported by effective urban instruments, implemented at administrative level. We also aim to present possible strategies for attracting investors and promoting architectural heritage resources. The balance of decisions, the process from the study of cultural value, to the implementation of the intervention categories and to the realization of the projects represent the main focus of the study. Our conclusions will be based on the project made for the protection and restoration of the historical center of Craiova.

PENGARUH FASADE BANGUNAN TERHADAP KARAKTER VISUAL KAWASAN TUGUMUDA SEMARANG

Semarang City is a city located in Central Java and also a metropolitan city in Indonesia, in the fifth place (Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, Bandung and Semarang City) in which there are several historical areas, one of which is the Tugu Muda area (Indriyatni, 2013). This area is often visited by local, national and international communities. The Tugu Muda area is one of the historic areas in Semarang with the presence of a monument to the struggle of the Semarang youth (Sukawi, 2009). With the passage of time, the Tugu Muda area, the Semarang city government built a high rise building with a modern concept, which is currently named the Pandanara Building, with the existence of this building visually reducing the image and value of the area, namely as a historic area. From this phenomenon, further research is needed to determine the effect of the building of the Pandanaran Building on the character of the Tugu Muda area of Semarang, which is essentially a historic area. The method used is a qualitative method by studying the literature on the theory of building facades and visual characters, which is then carried out in the analysis stages to achieve the research objectives.Abstrak: Kota semarang merupakan sebuah kota yang terletak di jawa tengah dan juga menjadi kota metropolitan di indonesi, dengan urutan ke lima (Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, Bandung dan Kota Semarang) yang di dalam nya terdapat beberapa kawasan bersejarah, salah satunya yaitu kawasan tugu muda (Indriyatni, 2013). Kawasan ini sering di kunjungi oleh masyarakat lokal, Nasional maupun Internasional. Kawasan Tugu Muda ini merupakan salah satu kawasan bersejarah di semarang dengan di tengarai dengan di adanya tugu perjuangan pemuda semarang (Sukawi, 2009). Dengan seiring berjalannya waktu Kawasan Tugu Muda pemerintah kota semarang mendirikan bangunan high hrise building dengan konsep modern, yang saat ini diberi nama Gedung Pandanara, dengan adanya bangunan tersebut secara visual mengurangi citra dan nilai dari Kawasan yaitu sebagai Kawasan bersejarah. Dari fenomena tersebut perlunya penelitian lebih jauh untuk mengetahui pengaruh adanya bangunan Gedung pandanaran tersebut terhadap karakter Kawasan Tugu Muda Semarang yang hakikinya kawasan ini merukan kawasan bersejarah. Metode yang di gunakan adalah metode kualitatif dengan mempelajari literature mengenai teori mengenai fasade bangunan dan karakter visual, yang kemudian dilakukan tahapan analisa guna mencapai tujuan penelitian.

Assessing Earthquake Impacts and Monitoring Resilience of Historic Areas: Methods for GIS Tools

Historic areas (HAs) are highly vulnerable to natural hazards, including earthquakes, that can cause severe damage, if not total destruction. This paper proposes methods that can be implemented through a geographical information system to assess earthquake-induced physical damages and the resulting impacts on the functions of HAs and to monitor their resilience. For the assessment of damages, making reference to the universally recognised procedure of convoluting hazard, exposure, and vulnerability, this paper proposes (a) a framework for assessing hazard maps of both real and end-user defined earthquakes; (b) a classification of the exposed elements of the built environment; and (c) an index-based seismic vulnerability assessment method for heritage buildings. Moving towards the continuous monitoring of resilience, an index-based assessment method is proposed to quantify how the functions of HAs recover over time. The implementation of the proposed methods in an ad hoc customized WebGIS Decision Support System, referred to as ARCH DSS, is demonstrated in this paper with reference to the historic area of Camerino-San Severino (Italy). Our conclusions show how ARCH DSS can inform and contribute to increasing awareness of the vulnerabilities of HAs and of the severity of the potential impacts, thus supporting effective decision making on mitigation strategies, post-disaster response, and build back better.

ENVIRONMENT OF HISTORICAL AREAS OF CITIES AS A BASIS FOR THE FORMATION OF INTERACTIVE RECREATION

Problem statement. In the modern urban planning practice of development of historical cities the role and potential of the city center are still insufficiently defined, features of its preservation and possible development are not revealed. In Ukraine, there is still no clear definition of the concept of “city center”, which does not contribute to the sustainable urban and architectural development of historic cities. Today there are different interpretations of such an urban category as “city center”. According to the researcher M. Bevz, the “city center” provides a rare opportunity to trace the millennial evolution of the urban planning system, which is rare in Ukraine. Some researchers believe that the city center is an important communication hub and a special space in which various functions of urban life are introduced, in all its evolution, modification, meanings and perceptions (O. Rybchynsky “Formation and revitalization of historical cities of Ukraine”). The author of the study considers it most appropriate to consider the concept of “city center” as identical to the concept of “historical core of the city”. Characteristics of the concept of “historic area of the city” appeared only in 2000 in the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Cultural Heritage” as part of the settlement, which preserved cultural heritage sites and related planning and form of construction that originate from previous periods of development, typical of certain crops or periods of development. One of the most important methods of preserving and properly modernizing the environment of historical areas should be considered “revalorization”, which contributes to the cultural value of the historic city center. The purpose of the article is to highlight the importance of the historical area as a basis for the formation of interactive recreation. Results. Implementation of revalorization into the theory and practice of domestic reconstruction of the urban environment on the basis of comprehensive and deep theoretical research, as well as ideas for improving and arranging urban space with a focus on successful foreign solutions for using the cultural potential of the central areas of historical cities in the system of interactive recreation. The city should be considered as a multifunctional phenomenon in the diversity of manifestations due to its general cultural and historical significance. In this context, the historic city center is a concentration of interactive communication between residents. Interactive communication is primarily an exchange of ideas for improving the urban environment and enhancing information exchange between people. In such interaction of people and environment of special importance acquires the reflection of human emotional reaction to the made architectural and town-planning environment with its historically formed “human” scale and richness of forms that in turn is necessary protective reaction of the modern person to “standardization” of new city building. The creation of interactive recreation based on the cultural potential of the historic areas of the city allows to form in these areas full-fledged interactive recreational spaces in the combination of existing and new buildings. Scientific novelty and practical significance. Due to the active growth of requirements for the quality and comfort of the urban space of the historic core of the city, the practical significance of the study is to study the historically formed substance of the city, its authenticity; preservation, revival and development of the historical image of the city center on the principles of revalorization. Today there is a need to find and develop methods of activating the environment, one of which is the creation of interactive recreation, which will help to adapt the city-forming and functional significance of their historic areas to new needs.