ABSTRACT
Historic urban environments are being threatened by the myriad forces of global and ecological change, although these vital social, cultural, and economic assets can contribute to the regeneration and liveability of inhabited historic cities worldwide. The primary challenge in the protection and the use of this vital asset is in maintaining the crucial balance between the needs for curating urban heritage and the concerns for enhancing contemporary socio-economic life in cities. The authors of The Routledge Handbook on Historic Urban Landscapes in the Asia-Pacific (henceforth shortened to the Handbook) are scholars in the regional context and shed light on this balancing act of urban heritage management, focusing specifically on the Asia-Pacific regions where these challenges are immanent, daunting, and in need of effective solutions. They take a critical look at the concept of Historic Urban Landscape (HUL), the approach that UNESCO promotes to achieve holistic management of urban heritage, through the lens of issues, prospects, and experiences of urban regeneration in this geo-cultural context. This work further discusses the difficult task that heritage managers encounter in conceptualizing, mapping, curating, and sustaining the plurality, poetics, and politics of urban heritage of the regions in question. The connective thesis that weaves the chapters in this volume together reinforces for readers that the management of urban heritage considers cities as dynamic entities, palimpsests of historical memories, collages of social diversity, territories of contested identities, and sites for sustainable liveability. The chapter authors argue for recognizing the totality of the eco-cultural urban fabric, embracing change, building social cohesion, and initiating strategic socio-economic progress in the conservation of HULs.
