“Sustainable use and conservation of historic walls”

1. Walled Cities, Open Societies Managing Historic Walls in Urban World Heritage Properties
Siena, Italy. 26-27 January 2017
Panel 2 - Sustainable use and conservation of historic walls
Key-note speaker: Elena Mussinelli,
for UNESCO Chair in Architectural Preservation and Planning in Heritage Cities
(Politecnico di Milano, Italy)

2. The historic urban landscape approach is aimed at preserving the quality of
the human environment, enhancing the productive and sustainable use of
urban spaces, while recognizing their dynamic character, and promoting
social and functional diversity. It integrates the goals of urban heritage
conservation and those of social and economic development.
(source: UNESCO - Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape, 2011)
Preservation
Conservation
Enhancement
Usability
Priorities
memory / resignification / re-use / bring up to date
Walled Cities/Rural Landscape - Carcassonne, France
(Credit: Credit: Ken Welsh/Getty) Walled Cities/Greenbelts - Old City of Rodes
Walled Cities/Fortified lines/Water - Malta
(WordPress.com)

3. Complexity – Variety – Articulation:
- Spatial
- Morphological
- Typological
- Functional
- Identity
- Technological
- Usability
- Management
Urban Walls and Walled Cities
Walled Cities/Walkability - York, England (Credits: ND)Walled Cities/Walkability - York, England (Credits: ND)Walled Cities/Walkability - York, England (Credits: ND)Walled Cities/Walkability - York, England (Credits: ND)
Walled Cities/Waterfront - Dubrovnik,
Croatia (credit: Mother Nature Network)
Walled Cities/Waterscapes - Toledo,
Spain (Credits: https://www.quora.com)
Walled Cities/Greenbelt - Valença do
Minho, Portugal (Credits:
https://www.quora.com)

4. Critical factors and pressure elements
DIS/REUSE
LACK OF SECURITY/SAFETY
OUT/UPDATED
DE/UPGRADATION
INACCESSIBILITY (MATERIAL/CULTURAL)
REAPPROPRIATION
CARELESSNESS
LACK OF MAINTAINANCE
LOSS OF MEANING/IDENTITY
SOCIOECONOMIC COSTS OF INVESTMENT PRODUCTION OF VALUES

5. Disputed landscapes or
places of cooperative intelligence
Walled Cities/Walkability - York, England (Credits: ND)
FROM: conflicts and disputes
TO: potential convergence
towards common
interests
FOR: an equilibrium among
economic interests
needs of preservation
social demand
Battle under the walls, Matteo Stom,
1644/1702
Walled Cities - Marvão, Portugal
(Credits: https://www.quora.com)
Tarragona, (credit: Wordpress.com)

6. Tourism: use/accessibility/consumption
Walled Cities/Walkability - York, England (Credits: ND)
Quantity and/or quality
Local community
and/or/for visitors
Politics/plans/actions
top-down or/and
bottom-up
Great Wall, China (Credits: Getty
Images)
Jerusalem Marathon, (credit: Pinterest)

7. Experiences and tools
Antonine Wall
Lahore
Besançon Siena
Corfu
Cartagena
York
Ferrara
Marostica

8. Keywords for a regeneration strategic process of
walled towns and city walls
Life cycle thinking
Emergency
Sectorial approach
Segmentation
Knowledge and documentation
Communication/information/education
Participation and subsidiarity
Conservation
Reuse and management plan/project

9. Topics to deepen
Walled Cities/Walkability - York, England (Credits: ND)
a) Re-use and
conservation/
regeneration
b) Walls/walled cities and
neighboring and
contiguous areas
c) Economic sustainability
of conservation
Walled Cities/Landscapes - Medieval
walls surround Ávila, Spain (Credit:
Credit: Matt Trommer/Thinkstock)
Roma, Porta San Sebastiano
(Credits: roma.net)
Walled Cities - Waterscapes - Naarden in
the Netherlands (Credits:
https://www.quora.com)

10. Actions
Mapping, analyzing,
sharing, transferring
Good practices, management
models, business models
Developing, testing,
validating
Methods, tools, indicators to
support the regeneration processes
Identifying the barriers
Cultural, social, economics,
institutional, legal, administrative,
technical to overpass them
Tallinn (Credits:
beyondmyfrontdoor.com)
Kotor (Credit: 123RF)

11. The walled towns and the city walls express considerable
potential for urban and territorial regeneration
both in the physical dimension of space and public and
community services and in the immaterial dimension of
resilience and social cohesion.
Their relevance and their attractiveness
make them a privileged area for experimenting
with sustainable forms of use and regeneration
Walled Cities/Walkability - York, England (Credits: ND)

12. THANK YOU FOR THE ATTENTION GIVEN