Conservation and sustainability in historic cities

274 Pages·2008·12.091 MB·English

by  Rodwell, Dennis

Conservation and Sustainability
in Historic Cities
Dennis Rodwell

Conservation and Sustainability in
Historic Cities
Also of Interest
Historic Building Conservation I: Understanding Conservation
Edited by Michael De Jong Forsyth
978-1-4051-1172-0
Historic Building Conservation II: Materials and Skills
Edited by Michael De Jong Forsyth
978-1-4051-1170-6
Historic Building Conservation III: Structures and Construction
Edited by Michael De Jong Forsyth
978-1-4051-1171-3
Built Cultural Heritage
Derek Worthing and Stephen Bond
978-1-4051-1978-8
Building Pathology
Second Edition
David Watt
978-1-4051-6103-9
Architectural Conservation
Aylin Orbas¸li
978-0-632-04025-4
Conservation and Sustainability
in Historic Cities
Dennis Rodwell
© text and photographs 2007 by Dennis Rodwell
Blackwell Publishing editorial offices:
Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK
Tel: [phone]
Blackwell Publishing Inc., 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA
Tel: [phone]
Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd, 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia
Tel: [phone]
The right of the Author to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the
prior permission of the publisher.
First published 2007 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 978-1-4051-2656-4
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rodwell, Dennis.
Conservation and sustainability in historic cities / Dennis Rodwell.
—1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-4051-2656-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Architecture—Conservation and restoration. 2. Sustainable
architecture. 3. Historic preservation. 4. Cultural
property—Protection. 5. Urban renewal. I. Title
NA105.R65 2007
720.28´8—dc22
2006036885
Set in 10/12.5 pt Sabon
by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd, Chennai, India
Printed and bound in Singapore
by Fabulous Printers Pte Ltd
The publisher's policy is to use permanent paper from mills that operate a sustainable forestry
policy, and which has been manufactured from pulp processed using acid-free and elementary
chlorine-free practices. Furthermore, the publisher ensures that the text paper and cover board used
have met acceptable environmental accreditation standards.
For further information on Blackwell Publishing, visit our website:
www.blackwellpublishing.com/construction
Contents
Introduction vii
Acknowledgements viii
Definitions: Conservation and Sustainability ix
1 Conservation: Background 1
2 Urban Planning Context 23
3 Sustainability: Background 47
4 Conservation: International Initiatives and Directions 64
5 Conservation: United Kingdom Position and Directions 86
6 Sustainable Cities and Urban Initiatives 111
7 Managing World Heritage Cities: United Kingdom 133
8 Managing Historic Cities: the Bottom-Up Approach 161
9 The Coincidence between Conservation and Sustainability 183
10 The Challenge and the Opportunity 204
Sources 217
Bibliography 243
List of Figures 251
Index 255
v

Introduction
Urban conservation is a concept that has been with us since at least the
1960s. Sustainable development is a concept that originated in the 1980s and
has become one of the core agendas of our time. Although their roots are
different, conservation and sustainability share common ground.
This book sets out to examine how these issues relate to each other in the
context of historic cities. It aims to:
● identify weaknesses in current philosophy and practice in urban
conservation;
● set out the relationship between successful architectural conservation
and wider agendas of sustainability and cultural identity;
● summarise the communality of approach and practice that needs to be
fostered and developed between a complex range of interrelated issues
and disciplines;
● enhance both the perceived relevance of architectural conservation and
its level of attainment;
● extend the achievement of the goals of sustainability in the context of
historic cities; and
● highlight the opportunities for conservation and sustainability to work
in a partnership of profound strength and mutual achievement.
Previous publications have focused on conservation and sustainability as
though they are separate issues. Perceptions, however, are changing, new
linkages are being forged, and this book seeks to contribute to this impor-
tant process.
The starting point for this book is the United Kingdom. It draws from
examples of theory and practice across Europe and elsewhere around the
world.
vii
Acknowledgements
The origins of this book date back to two post-graduate dissertations that
I prepared at University in the early-1970s, one that related to Edinburgh,
the other to countries across Western Europe. Over the intervening period
the ideas and material that have gone into its preparation owe so much to
so many people that it would be invidious to name them individually and
risk omitting some of the most influential – including many whom I have
never met and know only through their work. Suffice it to say:
First, that the support of colleagues, contemporaries and friends in cities
as diverse as London, Bath, Cambridge, Derby and Edinburgh within the
United Kingdom, and in cities across the length and breadth of continental
East and West Europe and beyond, has been decisive.
Second, that my interest and perseverance in architectural and urban con-
servation and their relationships to modern architecture and town planning
owe an enormous debt to the support of the late Sir Leslie Martin. My pro-
fessor at Cambridge and a noted modernist in his own professional career,
he had an inclusive approach to the challenges that budding architects
should be prepared for in the future, and supported and encouraged me at
a time when the topics were even less fashionable in the generality of the
schools of architecture than they are today.
viii