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Special Issue "Constructing Heritage in the Light of Sustainable Development"

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Special Issue Information
Keywords
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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2013)

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Special Issue Editor

Guest Editor

Prof. Dr. Marie-Theres Albert

UNESCO Chair in Heritage Studies, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus, LG 10, Room 234a, Erich-Weinert-Str. 1, Cottbus, Germany
Website | E-Mail
Fax: +49 355 692535
Interests: World Heritage; intercultural management; intercultural communication; educational development for developing countries

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Considering the new challenges of globalisation and climate change and the increasing acceptance of the three most important UNESCO Conventions regarding heritage, Heritage Studies have been confronted with new disciplinary and interdisciplinary challenges. These encompass increasing requirements for theoretically established approaches to tangible and intangible heritage as well as to cultural landscapes.

The publication shall provide answers within the disciplinary and interdisciplinary framework of Heritage Studies related to the challenges of globalisation. Based on this paradigm we want to stress innovations in the discourse on heritage protection and use considering participation and human development.

Key issues:

What does sustainability mean within the context of heritage protection and heritage use?
How can heritage be employed for human development?
Do quantitative agreeability concepts suffice in the light of the paradigm change concerning the understanding of heritage from a good to a product?
Which participatory concepts are for heritage Studies interesting and how should participation be achieved?
What are the most relevant methods in participatory approaches?

Prof. Dr. Marie-Theres Albert
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Heritage Studies and globalisation
heritage (tangible, intangible and cultural landscape) protection and use
sustainability
participation and human development

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle Cultural Resources as Sustainability Enablers: Towards a Community-Based Cultural Heritage Resources Management (COBACHREM) Model

by Susan O. Keitumetse

Sustainability 2014, 6(1), 70-85; doi:10.3390/su6010070

Received: 10 September 2013 / Revised: 7 November 2013 / Accepted: 29 November 2013 / Published: 20 December 2013

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Abstract

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People inhabit and change environments using socio-cultural and psycho-social behaviors and processes. People use their socio-cultural understanding of phenomena to interact with the environment. People are carriers of cultural heritage. These characteristics make cultural values ubiquitous in all people-accessed and people-inhabited geographic spaces of the world, making people readily available assets through which environmental sustainability can be implemented. Yet, people’s conservation development is rarely planned using cultural resources. It is against this background that a Community-Based Cultural Heritage Resources Management (COBACHREM) model is initiated as a new approach that outlines the symbiosis between cultural heritage, environment and various stakeholders, with a view to create awareness about neglected conservation indicators inherent in cultural resources and better placed to complement already existing natural resources conservation indicators. The model constitutes a two-phased process with four (04) levels of operation, namely: level I (production); level II (reproduction); level III (consumption) that distinguish specific components of cultural heritage resources to be monitored at level IV for sustainability using identified cultural conservation indicators. Monitored indicators, which are limitless, constitute work in progress of the model and will be constantly reviewed, renewed and updated through time. Examples of monitoring provided in this article are the development of cultural competency-based training curriculum that will assist communities to transform cultural information into certifiable intellectual (educational) and culture-economic (tourism) assets. Another monitoring example is the mainstreaming of community cultural qualities into already existing environmental conservation frameworks such as eco-certification to infuse new layers of conservation indicators that enrich resource sustainability. The technical COBACHREM model acknowledges existing academic frameworks of communal identity formation (e.g., indigenity and autochthony) and is designed to add value onto these. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Constructing Heritage in the Light of Sustainable Development)

Open AccessArticle World Heritage Protection and the Human Right to Development: Reconciling Competing or Complimentary Narratives Using a Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA)?

by Josephine Gillespie

Sustainability 2013, 5(7), 3159-3171; doi:10.3390/su5073159

Received: 30 April 2013 / Revised: 4 July 2013 / Accepted: 15 July 2013 / Published: 22 July 2013

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In the pursuit of the protection of places worthy of World Heritage designation, controls are placed on human activities. Regulations are put in place to curb the extent to which these places of heritage significance might be compromised by inappropriate human uses. For the most part, this conservation exercise takes the form of a regulatory regime that, in reality, imposes localized restrictions on how people interact with the protected site. Such restrictions can come at considerable expense to pre-existing users, and arguably, in some instances, these restrictions may also act to simultaneously restrict “rights”. These rights arise by virtue of a raft of international and regional commitments to human rights that, in essence, aim to preserve human dignity for all. This paper explores the nexus between conservation and development through a “rights” paradigm. Arguably, it is untenable to sustain a situation in which heritage trumps user-rights without due regard for some of the rights articulated within the human rights narrative. Heritage protection must be seen as a question of balance wherein conservation, development and rights are reconciled. It is argued that the adoption of a human rights-based approach (HRBA) to conservation may aid in the reconciliation of these goals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Constructing Heritage in the Light of Sustainable Development)

Open AccessArticle Sustainable and Balanced Energy Efficiency and Preservation in Our Built Heritage

by Heidi Norrström

Sustainability 2013, 5(6), 2623-2643; doi:10.3390/su5062623

Received: 1 April 2013 / Revised: 21 April 2013 / Accepted: 8 June 2013 / Published: 17 June 2013

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Today, conservation work in our built cultural heritage has to be reformulated due to the new energy efficiency requirements put forward. On both a national and an international level, energy efficiency measures are considered key actions within sustainability work, answering to the global issue of climate change. What does this imply for our built heritage? Contemporary conservation is characterized by the concept of sustainability, and integrated conservation is also expected to be sustainable. It is inherent in this tradition, but how are we going to balance the historic and architectural values with the new energy requirements? A research project, Energy Efficiency in Our Cultural Heritage (EEPOCH), consisting of a multiple case study, has been carried out over three years, studying selected objects restored within the Halland Model, a project over a decade long. In EEPOCH the multiple units of analysis are energy efficiency, historic and architectural values, management, and legislation. All are applied to the selected objects. The results and conclusions drawn from the analysis show that there are actions that are possible to take and to recommend, including national inventories of historic values in the existing building stock as well as guidance for the management of historic values on a municipal level for continued sustainable development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Constructing Heritage in the Light of Sustainable Development)

► Figures

Open AccessArticle Museums, Diasporas and the Sustainability of Intangible Cultural Heritage

by Saphinaz-Amal Naguib

Sustainability 2013, 5(5), 2178-2190; doi:10.3390/su5052178

Received: 2 April 2013 / Revised: 23 April 2013 / Accepted: 6 May 2013 / Published: 13 May 2013

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This article is about the work of museums in constructing the intangible cultural heritage of migration and diasporas. I address the cultural dimension of sustainability and examine what happens to living traditions in migratory contexts, in particular, in contexts of international migrations, and consider different participatory approaches used by museums. I propose that collaborative projects drawing upon the principles of ecomuseology and what I describe as participation by endowment may provide new ways of involving groups of immigrant background. I limit the discussion to questions tied to the intangible cultural heritage of migration to Europe and argue that by recording, documenting, safeguarding and keeping the intangible heritage of diasporas alive, museums contribute in promoting self-esteem among these populations and social cohesion in society. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Constructing Heritage in the Light of Sustainable Development)

Open AccessArticle Optimal and Sustainable Plant Refurbishment in Historical Buildings: A Study of an Ancient Monastery Converted into a Showroom in Florence

by Carla Balocco and Enrico Marmonti

Sustainability 2013, 5(4), 1700-1724; doi:10.3390/su5041700

Received: 1 February 2013 / Revised: 25 March 2013 / Accepted: 9 April 2013 / Published: 22 April 2013

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The aim of this research is to study the possibility and sustainability of retrofit and refurbishment design solutions on historical buildings converted to different uses and often clashing with their original purpose and architectural features. The building studied is an ancient monastery located in the historical center of Florence (Italy). Today the original cloister is covered over by a single glazed pitched roof and used as a fashion showroom. Our proposed solution concerns a reversible and sustainable plant design integrated with an active transparent building casing. The existing glazed pitched roof was reconsidered and re-designed as part of the existing heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) plant system, based on the functioning of an active thermal buffer to control the high heat flow rates and external thermal loads due to solar radiation. Hourly whole building energy analysis was carried out to check the effectiveness and energy sustainability of our proposed solution. Results obtained showed, from the historical-architectural, energy and environmental points of view, its sustainability due to the building-plant system integration and interaction with its location, the external climatic conditions and defined expected uses, in particular with reference to indoor thermal comfort. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Constructing Heritage in the Light of Sustainable Development)

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