Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
CONCLUSION
In his early study of townscape conservation as
applied geography, Conzen (1975: p. 83)
concluded by asking three questions: 'What is the
social purpose of conservation? What are the
dangers threatening the conservation of historical
townscapes in Europe? What is the general nature
of conservation?' All three of these questions are
now much better understood through the great
volume of work published since that date—much
of it undertaken by geographers, and much of it
closely connected with the evolving concerns of
the discipline of geography. Nevertheless, there is
still an evident lack of a widely accepted ethic or
philosophy of townscape conservation, and this is
a key area for future development.
Much more is known of the history and
development of conservation thought, legislation
and practice (for example, see Delafons (1997) for
an insider's view of the UK system). Quantitative
information on numbers and types of preserved
monuments and areas is being supplemented by
qualitative data on perceptions, reactions and uses.
Most tellingly, the concept of 'conservation',
having developed from 'preservation', has itself
now developed into 'heritage' (Ashworth 1994).
Studies have suggested that, although the heritage
concept could be argued to have popularised
conservation, its ideologies have clearly restricted
choice and freedom. The power of heritage
selection and promotion is vested in powerful
elites, whether multinational corporations or
municipal authorities. Little effective consultation
with local groups takes place. The
commodification of heritage is a further part of
the impact of the capitalist system on the built
environment.
Where next? First, developments in technology
continue apace and may be harnessed in the study
of the conserved townscape. For example, recent
developments using GIS and computer analysis
have considerably assisted the 'layering',
representation and analysis of such morphological,
historical and archaeological data (Koster 1998).
Second, cultural issues of conservation and
heritage are likely to become even more
Plate 24.3
Lód'z, Poland. Main street pedestrianised in
1993. Removal of original surfaces and tramway, new
street furniture. Place marketing here is drawing away
from the 'heritage' feel.
cultures and locations. Heritage images are widely
used in place promotion, even for places with a
short, or contested, history; and a sub-set of
'tourist-historic' cities has been identified
(Ashworth and Tunbridge 1990). Regeneration
efforts in a wide range of neglected urban quarters
across the world have used heritage as a key
component of the place-marketing and
revitalisation strategies, and this can clearly be seen
in Bradford's Little Germany, Birmingham's
jewellery quarter (see Box 24.1;Tiesdell
et al
. 1996)
and Cape Town's waterfront district. Yet criticism
surrounds the selectivity of the heritage, which
excludes aspects of local heritage deemed
'unsalable' to tourists or investors (Kearns and
Philo 1993), and its sanitization, for example in
pseudo-historicist street furniture and
enhancement schemes (Booth 1993). But such is
the competitive nature of contemporary place-
marketing that such questioning is seen as
unwelcome, even traitorous.
In the UK and other Western countries, de-
industrialisation has led to a growing reliance on
service sector industries, of which heritage
tourism is very significant. In many countries in
the developing world, heritage tourism is also a
great supporter of the economy; but while the first
world commodifies its heritage, often for internal
consumption, the third world relies on producing
attractions for overseas tourists.
