Session at the European Association for Urban History Conference: Cities in Motion 2020

The opening of the new millennium coincided with new apprehensions centered on "crises": environmental, economic, political. Climate change and resilience, world economic crisis and war and terrorist destruction became the leitmotif of the past 20 years, increasing our awareness on how fragile we and our heritage and built environment are.

This panel addresses the issue of “Heritage at Risk." We welcome papers assessing international case studies and comparative research concerning cities and archaeological sites at risk from damage and destruction due to military violence and occupation, environmental degradation, as well as economic, political, and touristic pressures. How do these threats shape perceptions of urban history and heritage? What lessons can be drawn from past heritage protection and what models have been most successful? What social and professional groups have controlled definitions of heritage and how protection and restoration have been implemented. What social and political conflicts have arisen around heritage, its definition and protection under peril? How have perceptions of urban and cultural heritage, their damage, and strategies for their protection differed in various parts of the world? 

  • Spokesperson: Rosemary Wakeman, Fordham University
  • Co-organizer(s): Heleni Porfyriou, Istituto per la Conservazione e la Valorizzazione dei Beni Culturali
  • Keywords: Urban heritage | War | Environment, climate change
  • Time period: Modern period
  • Topic(s): Heritage | Architecture and urbanism
  • Study area: More than one continent