Can historic preservation make room for evolution, and even change? UNESCO's Cultural Landscapes designation attempts to leave room for places to evolve without losing their character.
ASLA talks with Francesco Bandarin, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. He explains that the World Heritage Cultural Landscape designation is meant to identify "a special relationship between man and nature."
Bandarin says, "What we aren't trying to do is freeze a landscape. We are completely aware that although our task is linked to conservation, the world evolves and the vision of heritage changes. It's very important that we include in our vision, practice, and statutory work, a concept that allows for the interpretation of modern needs, and the values that are involved in cultural landscapes. These values are something that can be preserved, but within an evolving society.
I think this is the challenge: preserving values in a changing environment."
Read the full story: Interview with Franceso Bandarin, UNESCO World Heritage, on Cultural Landscapes
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