New Guidebook on Management of Historic Urban Landscapes

The World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (WHITRAP) has recently published The HUL Guidebook - Managing heritage in dynamic and constantly changing urban environments. WHITRAP defines the HUL Guidebook as 'a practical guide to UNESCO's Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape'. Following the adoption of the UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) in 2011, the so-called 'HUL approach' has been applied in a number of cities around the world and integrated into new global approaches for sustainable cities. The HUL Guidebook argues that this is just the start, and that the future of HUL includes embedding this approach in multidisciplinary practice and national/regional frameworks, increasing knowledge on its application and growing cooperative networks for cities worldwide. In this context the HUL Guidebook delivers a practical understanding of the Historic Urban Landscape approach, along with information regarding its purpose and application. It is structured as a manual that aims to equip readers with a set of practical and theoretical information, including case studies; and that also brings together a list of experts and resources to assist with the implementation of the HUL approach. The Guidebook has been designed to assist stakeholders who wish to effectively deal with change in a way that harmonises urban conservation with urban development and regeneration. In this sense, it is aimed at, but not limited to local authorities, government officials, practitioners operating in the field of urban conservation or urban development, researchers, consultants, university and training partners. It also includes a set of case studies, from cities including Ballarat (Australia), Shanghai (China), Suzhou (China), Rawalpindi (Pakistan), Naples (Italy) and Amsterdam (Netherlands). WHITRAP is a non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the implementation of the World Heritage Convention in the Asia-Pacific region. It builds the capacity of the professionals and bodies involved with World Heritage site conservation and management in the Asia-Pacific region, conducts training and research, and facilitates dissemination of information and network building. Since 2013 WHITRAP and Tongji University’s Advanced Research Institute for Architecture and Urban-Rural Planning, in cooperation with UNESCO's World Heritage Centre, are facilitating the implementation of the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape by promoting and undertaking research and training, as well as developing pilot projects in the region. The HUL Guidebook is available for free download at http://historicurbanlandscape.com/themes/196/userfiles/download/2016/6/7/wirey5prpznidqx.pdf