Conservation of urban historic districts in China : present models of integration and utilization of historic resources and challenges for authenticity

Chinese urban historic districts retain abundant urban traditional features, local characteristics and historic architecture. They not only gather and display urban cultural heritage but extend and develop urban historic culture and social traditions. In 1964 the “Venice Charter” expanded the concept and scope of historical and cultural heritage conservation from individual building heritage, historical sites comprising heritage buildings and historical environments to whole historic districts. At the same time, authenticity was adopted as a principle of heritage conservation. In 1994 the Nara Document on Authenticity confirmed that authenticity is of great importance to the conservation of cultural heritage. In 2003, “The Hoi An Declaration on Conservation of Historic Districts of Asia” reinforced the significance, integrity and authenticity of historic district conservation. In China, with the accelerated urbanization process and improved living conditions of urban residents, the unique values and historic and cultural heritage of historic districts is being destroyed. Considerable historic and cultural heritage has been reconstructed, leading to the loss of authenticity of these historic districts. This paper provides an overview of the Chinese situation. It highlights the problems and demonstrates a clear need to protect the authenticity of these historic districts. Authenticty is evaluated against various Chinese conservation of historic districts having regard to international experience and methods. As a result, it will be demonstrated that conservation modes of authenticity of urban historic districts in China and historic resources should be employed to ensure: 1) the restoration and conservation of historic architecture; 2) the preservation and renovation of old spaces and structures; 3) the integration and coordination of historic and new buildings; and the 4) the continuation and succession of historic culture and local tradition.

Ledroit Park, A Portrait In Black And White: A Study Of Historic Districts, Social Change, And The Process Of Neighborhood Placemaking

This research examines the process of placemaking in LeDroit Park, a residential Washington, DC, neighborhood with a historic district at its core. Unpacking the entwined physical and social evolution of the small community within the context of the Nation’s Capital, this analysis provides insight into the role of urban design and development as well as historic designation on shaping collective identity. Initially planned and designed in 1873 as a gated suburb just beyond the formal L’Enfant-designed city boundary, LeDroit Park was intended as a retreat for middle and upper-class European Americans from the growing density and social diversity of the city. With a mixture of large romantic revival mansions and smaller frame cottages set on grassy plots evocative of an idealized rural village, the physical design was intentionally inwardly-focused. This feeling of refuge was underscored with a physical fence that surrounded the development, intended to prevent African Americans from nearby Howard University and the surrounding neighborhood, from using the community’s private streets to access the City of Washington. Within two decades of its founding, LeDroit Park was incorporated into the District of Columbia, the surrounding fence was demolished, and the neighborhood was racially integrated. Due to increasingly stringent segregation laws and customs in the city, this period of integration lasted less than twenty years, and LeDroit Park developed into an elite African American enclave, using the urban design as a bulwark against the indignities of a segregated city. Throughout the 20th century housing infill and construction increased density, yet the neighborhood never lost the feeling of security derived from the neighborhood plan. Highlighting the architecture and street design, neighbors successfully received historic district designation in 1974 in order to halt campus expansion. After a stalemate that lasted two decades, the neighborhood began another period of transformation, both racial and socio-economic, catalyzed by a multi-pronged investment program led by Howard University. Through interviews with long-term and new community members, this investigation asserts that the 140-year development history, including recent physical interventions, is integral to placemaking, shaping the material character as well as the social identity of residents.

The evolution of national level historic district registration and conservation in China: the Beijing Yandaixiejie and Beijing Guozijian districts in Beijing, China

From the 1980s, Chinese experts from some mainland universities, such as Tongji Universtiy in Shanghai and Tsinghua University in Beijing, commenced research into heritage management and historic architectural conservation in China. With the announcement of the First and Second Lists of 10 Chinese Historic and Cultural Districts in 2009 and 2010, the conservation of historic districts was generally received and elevated in agreements from state-level government to local level governments. This paper considers literature about international and Chinese regulations and presents the evolution of historic district conservation in China. The paper explores the effective and ineffective results of the “Selection Contest of Chinese Top 10 Historic and Cultural Districts” in two cases selected from the First and Second Lists of 10 Chinese Historical and Cultural Districts during upon recent research and investigations. In each example, the paper provides a detailed examination of public awareness and their evaluation of conservation effectiveness through questionnaires.

Business Signage Control in Seattle's Chinatown International District, Pursuing Healthy Balance of Preservation and Commercial Vitalization in a Historic Commercial Districts

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Historic residential suburbs : guidelines for evaluation and documentation for the National Register of Historic Places /

Includes bibliographical references (p. 118-133).

Preservation in a growing city: a consideration of conservation districts for Washington, D.C. neighborhoods

Master final project submitted to the faculty of the Historic Preservation Program of the School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Historic Preservation, 2013.

A transformação e revalorização do espaço do centro histórico de Santos/SP

The city of Santos always had its importance recognised by the respectful role of flowing off the coffee production between the end of 19th and beginning of 20th centuries. All effervescence of this period brought changes to the central area of the city, located near the port. Beginning in the 1970s, some changes in the politics and in the city's urban space made its cafes, theaters, stores and traditional residencies find itselves in decadence imposed by the negligence of the public power. The Historic Downtown of Santos changed to a forgotten and depreciated space and remained that way for many years, reflecting negatively in the preservation of the arquitetonic heritage of the city. The present project aims to analyse the transformation of the current space of the Hitoric Downtown of Santos from the beginning of the 20th century and its recent revaluation through the public politics of the city

Urbanização de favelas: da espontaneidade à cidade formal

O presente Trabalho Final de Graduação analisou projetos de urbanização de favelas em paralelo com algumas urbanizações feitas nos tecido das cidades medievais que também possuem um traçado inicial de origem espontânea. A partir dessa análise, a pesquisa teve como objetivo a busca de experiências técnicas e de gestão, a partir de bases bibliográficas e visitas em campo, nesses locais de diferentes contextos e, a partir disso, discutir soluções urbanísticas que foram bem‐resolvidas ou dificuldades encontradas nas intervenções. A metodologia empregada para a análise baseou‐se na revisão bibliográfica através das bibliotecas da Universidade Estadual Paulista, da Universidade de São Paulo e do Centro de Documentação da Câmara Municipal de Évora, além do acesso a bibliotecas digitais, como a Base Dedalus da Universidade de São Paulo, a Biblioteca Digital da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, a BAE da Universidade Estadual de Campinas, a Minerva da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, a BU da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, BIB da Universidade de Évora e a Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal. Os resultados que foram obtidos buscaram responder perguntas como: quais as questões interessantes a se considerar a partir da análise do projeto – técnicas e de gestão? No caso das favelas, quando houve a remoção, isso foi feito por motivos técnicos pertinentes? E a questão da acessibilidade diante de casos de uma ocupação em encostas com acessos perpendiculares às curvas de nível? Como tornar o local acessível a todos? Isso já foi alguma vez pensado e solucionado? Quais as situações que devem ser observadas para se determinar se deverá ter ou não uma realocação das famílias? A partir dessa avaliação buscou‐se criar, ainda que minimamente, subsídios teóricos para novos projetos de urbanização e entender a efetiva importância sociológica na construção do “habitat humano”

Report of the Illinois Mississippi Scenic Parkway Commission to His Excellency Otto Kerner and the Seventy-Fifth General Assembly.

"January 12, 1967"--Cover letter.

A identidade e o efémero

Dissertação para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Arquitectura com Especialização em Interiores, apresentada na Universidade de Lisboa - Faculdade de Arquitectura.