'Sustainable development of urban historical areas through an active integration within towns'. The SUIT project aims at establishing a flexible and consistent Environmental Assessment methodology to assist with the active conservation of historical areas. This methodology will be designed to help local authorities in assessing the suitability of new urban developments which will promote sustainable exploitation of urban and architectural cultural heritage.

The networks of buildings, monuments, streets, squares and parks uniquely define the European towns and cities that are the palpable, if unconscious, cultural horizon for those who live and work in them. Built heritage, as well as satisfying the mundane requirements of shelter and comfort, brings essential stability and richness to our lives and provides the singular, evolving expression of the achievements, values and identity of specific communities.

As a consequence present conservation policies tend more and more to consider entire urban areas as significant pieces of cultural heritage. Yet the preservation and conservation of European historical urban areas raise specific questions. These areas are ‘living’ systems, involving social dynamics, technical and building networks and the presence of people living in it. Their sound conservation suggests they must be kept within sustainable development activity cycles. As a consequence the active conservation of such historical areas should fall under the present Environmental Impact Assessment directive (97/11/EC) as well as the forthcoming Strategical Environmental Assessment directive (COM (99)73). These procedures will constitute a reference framework within the SUIT research.

Putting sustainability into practice is one of the greatest challenges facing Europe’s policy- makers, enterprises and people. Particularly so, the search for win-win solutions in the urban environment, with its wide range of competing stakeholders. Four out of five Europeans live in cities and towns, placing a heavy burden on the built-up environment.

Sustainability in this urban setting is a wide field of research made up of complex interactions in the social, economic and environmental spheres. What’s more, the bulk of Europe’s cultural heritage – symbolised by such things as art, stately buildings and monuments – are also mainly found in cities; where they are exposed, on a daily basis, to the drawbacks of the big town environment: vibration, noise, atmospheric pollution and more.

Research is directed at several aspects of urban life: assessing and implementing sustainable transport systems; the development of technologies for the safe construction, renovation and demolition of buildings in built-up areas; city planning for sustainability and rational resource management; and, lastly, research on the protection, conservation and enhancement of cultural heritage artefacts.

The SUIT project aims at establishing a flexible and consistent Environmental Assessment methodology to assist with the active conservation of historical areas. This methodology will be designed to help municipalities and local authorities in assessing the suitability of new urban developments which will promote sustainable exploitation of urban and architectural cultural heritage. The methodology will also help to match existing historical areas with current socio-economic requirements, through an active integration of this heritage within new development projects. This general objective has been declined along three tangible research activities:

1.27 million euro.

The outcomes of the research is targeted at municipalities and town councils, which normally lack the expertise to handle complex research prototypes and state-of-the-art techniques. The main operational outcome of the project is the 'Guideline about the Environmental Assessment of the effects of certain plans, programmes or projects upon the heritage value and long-term sustainability of historical area' (use link below). These guidelines to help local authorities make more effective use of Environmental Impact Assessment procedures is already an established part of European law, these offer a means to assess the effects of programmes, policies or projects on urban heritage values.

To see how these procedures could be applied to the protection of urban heritage, SUIT researchers undertook 11 detailed case studies of urban development projects impacting on cultural heritage. They asked how the projects were managed, what approaches were successful and what mistakes were made. The cases included refurbishment of historic buildings, major new construction projects, and renovation of entire areas. Though few used systematic impact assessment, all had some form of preliminary study, and they illustrated a range of situations where conflict can arise. The planned opera house on the harbour in Copenhagen, for example, was considered to create no significant environmental impacts. But when the public was consulted, it turned out that some citizens were concerned about changes to the historic Amalienborg place. The conversion of Victoria Square in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from derelict relic to modernised retail zone caused a lengthy, polarised debate in which regeneration eventually triumphed over heritage. But the decision-making process kept supporters and opposers apart, so creative compromise solutions were not developed.

On the basis of such experiences, SUIT devised specific guidelines for using EIA and SEA to address issues of cultural heritage. Involving the public from the outset is one key to success. The public should be consulted when decisions are still reversible, so that they can genuinely influence the outcome. The lives of cities' inhabitants are directly affected by development in many ways, but city planners can easily overlook important aspects of culture. A 1960s project to refurbish the centre of Liege was so hampered by obstructive demonstrations that it was eventually abandoned.

But engaging people is a challenge. People are busy, so you must avoid repetition and involve them only at crucial stages. Innovative participation methods should be simple and quick, like using photographs to assess how people value different features.

The Royal Danish Academy's School of Architecture
Gregers Algreen-Ussing, tel. 0045 3268 6128

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Prof. Albert DUPAGNE- LEMA, UNIVERSITY OF LIEGE; Prof. Catherine ZWETKOFF - SPIRAL, UNIVERSITY OF LIEGE; Prof. Niklaus KOHLER, University Karlsruhe (IFIB); Dr. Chris Tweed, Queen's University Belfast; Prof. Gregers ALGREEN-USSING, The Royal Danish Academy's School of Architecture; Monsieur Ghilain GÉRON, RW - DGATLP; Dr. Alan BOND, UNIWA - University of Wales Aberystwyth, EIA Unit.; Prof. Dr.-Ing. Uta HASS, University Dortmund

research

Urban Policy > Urban environment

Cultural heritage