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

 

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