| Argument continues over whether heritage conservation and planning strategies should be promoted in historic cities for economic, educational, aesthetic and other purposes. Heritage conservation, planning and management has developed as a distinct speciality rapidly in the last two decades in response to the effects of modernization. Many designers and planners have been working toward preservation and ways to increase the historic identity, and usefulness of historic urban areas. Recently, in many areas of the world heritage conservation has become a central activity of planning and urban design. This is in great contrast to a large number of schemes which have been planned and implemented in the past in Islamic cities with little consideration for heritage values in design and city planning. In this respect, it is contended that historic cities with their physical, aesthetic, cultural, and socio-economic aspects should be preserved, revitalized, maintained, and integrated into strategic planning and design. Heritage resources in cities should be enhanced so that people will be encouraged to visit, learn, shop, work, and live in these areas.The current status and plans for the four cases were comprehensively assessed in order to generate understanding and rationale for specific improvements which were aimed particularly at the case of Tripoli. In two of three cases and more generally in request to other cities, the plans undertook a selective rather than a comprehensive and a cultural dependent approach. This is an important concern. Recommendations are made at the end of this dissertation of citizens, planners and architects and those who face the challenge of planning cultural heritage and historic environments. These recommendations are directed toward: (1) improved organization and communication (2) a comprehensive culture dependent philosophy and approach (3) planning in broader spatial or regional terms and (4) more intergovernmental co-operation at the national and international levels.In this respect, four case studies were selected from different contexts and examined for comparative study. These include historic Madrid in Spain, and the historic walled cities of Quebec, Canada, Fez in Morocco, and the Madina of Tripoli, Libya. The main purpose was to investigate, evaluate and learn from these cases as well as to assess how they implemented and managed conservation and use programs. Plans were analyzed systematically in terms of (1) strategic planning, and (2) implementation strategies. Analyses were undertaken to evaluate the current status of the plans and their impacts to date. |
