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 is currently working together to produce an edited volume on urban heritage to be published both as a book and as a special issue of Global Urban Development Magazine. This project was initiated by committee, and the book’s four editors are the committee’s three co-chairs, Luigi Fusco Girard, Donovan Rypkema, and Belinda Yuen, together with Marc Weiss. Many members of the GUD committee on Celebrating Our Urban Heritage are contributing chapters to this state-of-the-art book. Funding is provided by Heritage Strategies International.

Celebrating Our Urban Heritage Committee
Co-Chairs: Luigi Fusco Girard, Donovan Rypkema, and Belinda Yuen

DeWayne Anderson

Uri Avin

Vinayak Bharne

Margaret Caust

Storm Cunningham

Hank Dittmar

Robert Fishman

Andrzej Flis

Fabiana Forte

Robert Freestone

Jorge Gaspar

Martin Greenfield
Eric Hobsbawm

Vladimir Ira
Kenneth Jackson

Kate Joncas

Mona Khechen

Benjamin Kuras

Randolph Langenbach

Keith Laughlin
Stella Madrid
Steven Miller
Zane Miller

Karen Moon

Christiane Nasser

Henrik Nolmark

Erik Pages

Deependra Prashad
James Ragan

Maria Rosario
Stuart Rowlands

Kathryn Smith

Jacques Teller

Pablo Vaggione
Marc Weiss

Carol Willis

Barbara Wolfson

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