Author:

Keywords:

Conservation, heritage values, historic centre, historic urban landscape, mapping, urban protection, Arts & Humanities, Humanities, Multidisciplinary, Arts & Humanities - Other Topics

Abstract:

The notion of Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) has brought to discussion some of the principles established in early international agreements such as the 1972 Convention, where importance is attributed to assets and values beyond material and built heritage. The HUL approach introduced on the 2011 HUL Recommendation by the UNESCO is being applied to the World Heritage Site Cuenca in Ecuador. Protection in Cuenca-since its inclusion on the List in 1999- has been given only to inventoried buildings despite the recognized values revealed on its settlement, territory and immaterial resources. This research aims to develop a strategy to integrate components beyond buildings including values that involve a wider scope of stakeholders. The research aims to identify eight elements; geomorphology, environment, hydrology, urban planning, historical cartographic review, land uses, symbolic and iconic images of the city, and finally intangible aspects. Those elements are then mapped as layers of information. This creates a supporting graphical tool to visualize studies which use information gathered from several sources and existing databases. The studies are combined and managed with ArcMap facilitating the combination (overlapping) of the different information layers. The objective is to develop an integrated tool that can be used by all stakeholders and facilitate social participation in heritage conservation at the urban level.