Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Box 24.3 continued
However, funding is a major problem, and overseas
aid has been responsible for major support to restore
landmark buildings: with grants of $400,000 from the
United Nations Development Programme and $600,000
from the European Community (McQuillan 1990: p. 411).
The rate of building collapse has declined dramatically,
and in 1988 the Stone Town was officially designated as
a conservation area.
Despite this apparent success, Marks (1996) shows
significant contradictions and ambiguities, not least that
tourism (and the need for tourist-generated overseas
income) can 'simultaneously preserve individual notable
buildings while destroying many of the town's fragile
social and cultural networks and much of the urban fabric
they inhabit…resulting in sporadic gentrification of the
Stone Town and marginalisation of the poor'.
Thus the restoration of individual buildings and public
spaces has sanitised the past, with the vision being that
of a 'white-washed paradise…a caricature of Zanzibar
culture' where there is no space for informal trade.
'Privately and publicly owned “monuments” …are
rehabilitated into a series of tourist preserves, where a
reified notion of “tradition” and “culture” is put on display'
(Marks 1990: p. 274). Informal and illegal encroachments
upon public and private land increase as the demand for
space rises, sanctioned by some high-level politicians.
The character and appearance of the Stone Town are
changing significantly and quickly.
the loss of housing stock and, with some United Nations
support, decided
to halt the collapse of housing, revitalize the local
economy and so preserve the urban patrimony of the
Stone Town as a testament to the diverse origins of the
population of Zanzibar, notwithstanding the recent
painful memories which many of the structures evoked.
(McQuillan 1990: p. 405)
Only six structures—all public buildings—had been
protected in 1979. Concerted preservation action was, in
practice, almost a by-product of solutions to the housing
problem. The collapse of ill-maintained property was
seen as a needless waste of resources; the United
Nations' involvement arose from concern (outside
Zanzibar itself) over the loss of one of the most distinctive
urban heritages in sub-Saharan Africa.
A comprehensive redevelopment plan, with the
creation of a historic district and an independent authority
responsible for preservation and rehabilitation, was
devised (LaNier and McQuillan 1983). As part of its
innovative mixture of preservation and housing
improvement, residents of government-owned buildings
in danger of collapse could purchase them for a small
sum (approximately 25 per cent of market value),
provided that the property was renovated to agreed
standards specific to each building within two years of
purchase. By 1990, over 100 buildings had been
transferred; the government had been relieved of the
problems of tenancy and maintenance, and had derived
some income, which was directed into repair of other
historic property.
Source:
LaNier and McQuillan 1983; McQuillan 1990;
Marks 1996.
overwhelmingly show them to be the wealthy,
articulate, educated, middle classes (e.g. Lowe and
Goyder 1983). They, of course, work for a
particular selection of conservation, particularly in
the third world and former colonies, where, until
the last decade or two, it has been relatively rare to
see townscapes of, or the contribution of, the
indigenous population preserved. Their view has
been that the indigents were not civilised, not
urbanised—or not there. They have particular
perceptions of what should be conserved, and how.
For the most part, among the active elite or the
passive majority (who nevertheless consume
commodified heritage), there is support for the
past, for the qualities of past places, and for their
replication in conserved modern townscapes. But,
as Hubbard (1993) again reminds us, different
groups in society do have different values and
attitudes, and these can be revealed with
sufficiently sensitive techniques. Education and
age appear to be significant variables, and there is
a distinct gap between built environment
professionals and the lay public—for example in
the attitude towards historical authenticity, as
reflected in façadism and pastiche replication.
Strange (1997) argues that the public are sensitive
to authenticity, perceive losses to the non-
renewable conserved townscape resource, and
would not choose to visit a replication: arguably,
the popularity of the National Trust's Uppark
House, rebuilt after its 1989 fire, may disprove this.
Conservation and remaking places
Heritage has become increasingly used in the
marketing of products and, especially relevant in
the current context, places (see Plate 24.3). Both
case studies illustrate this use, in widely differing
