Celebrating Our Urban Heritage
The physical and cultural
legacy of urban regions is a valuable asset to be preserved, enhanced, and
honored. This precious legacy connects history to future generations, enables
broad-based sustainable prosperity, and emphasizes quality of life as a key
building block for economic well-being, environmental health, and social
vitality. The competitive advantage of places - what makes them attractive and
special - is the character and spirit of community that is embedded in our
history. The rapid pace of change in the 21st century underscores the need to
conserve the treasures of the past, and to pay homage to the dynamic evolution
of human ingenuity and urban civilization over many centuries. Market systems
are increasingly reflecting greater respect for the value of what is old and
traditional. Global Urban Development works on projects that highlight the
economic and social importance of, and encourage public and private investment
in: preserving historic buildings and districts, celebrating ethnic and
cultural diversity, promoting heritage tourism, and appreciating recreation and
nature. Many of these projects emphasize citizen participation, civic activism,
and community-based initiatives, from arts festivals and crafts fairs to
architecture museums and neighborhood walking tours.
This
committee recently produced an edited volume on Urban Heritage published in
August 2008 as a special issue of Global
Urban Development Magazine. This
project was initiated by the committee, and the magazine’s editors are the
committee’s three co-chairs, Luigi Fusco Girard, Donovan Rypkema,
and Belinda Yuen, together with Marc Weiss and Nancy Sedmak-Weiss. Several members of GUD’s committee on
Celebrating Our Urban Heritage contributed articles to this special issue of
GUD Magazine, including Robert Freestone, Donovan Rypkema,
Kathryn Smith, and Pablo Vaggione.
Celebrating
Our Urban Heritage Committee
Co-Chairs: Luigi Fusco Girard, Donovan Rypkema, and Belinda Yuen
DeWayne Anderson
Uri Avin
Vinayak Bharne
Cid
Blanco Jr.
Margaret Caust
Simon Cavelle
Louise Cox
Storm Cunningham
Hank Dittmar
Robert Fishman
Fabiana Forte
Robert Freestone
Jorge Gaspar
Martin Greenfield
Christer Gustafsson
Eric Hobsbawm
Vladimir Ira
Kenneth Jackson
Kate Joncas
Fred Kent
Mona Khechen
Benjamin Kuras
Randolph Langenbach
Keith Laughlin
Stella Madrid
Derek Martin
Robert McNulty
Steven Miller
Zane Miller
Karen Moon
Christiane Nasser
Henrik Nolmark
Erik Pages
Deependra Prashad
James Ragan
Maria do Rocio Rosario
Laura Lee Ross
Stuart Rowlands
Kathryn Smith
Jacques Teller
Pablo Vaggione
Emily Wadhams
Marc Weiss
Carol Willis
Barbara Wolfson