After an overview of developments in planning legislation regarding heritage preservation in Cyprus, the paper examines the threats faced over the past fifty years, and the way government has addressed these.  The Cyprus architectural heritage index card is examined in a case study of the Anogyra village inventory and two rehabilitation examples from the town of Limassol are highlighted. The paper concludes by making specific proposals for safeguarding the island’s heritage.

The research is part of an on-going effort at the Department of Town Planning and Housing to identify threats, weaknesses, strengths and opportunities in relation to the built heritage of Cyprus, which is not necessarily limited to areas covered by the Town and Country Planning Legislation, but may cover any spatial planning or urban affairs issue. Research results provide feedback to policy formulation, which is carried out within the framework of relevant planning legislation.

The specific paper is, in general, based on research carried out in Cyprus on heritage preservation issues. In particular, it was prepared for the participation of Cyprus in the fifth of a series of advanced research initiation workshops, assisting and developing networks in Europe (ARIADNE), hosted by the Advanced Research Centre for Cultural Heritage Interdisciplinary Projects (ARCCHIP) of the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.

European Commission grant EU-ICA1-CT-2000-70013 to ARIADNE 5 (Czech Republic)

The paper suggests the promotion, through a holistic approach, of strategies for the presentation of archaeological sites, the regeneration of traditional settlements, the rehabilitation of cultural landscapes, the development of human resources etc., in order to provide additional cultural tourism opportunities and diversify the tourist product. To integrate heritage concerns in all fields of planning and stimulate the generation of new ideas, it is proposed to establish an institution for research and publications on cultural heritage issues, as well as construct a geographically referenced database of cultural resources in order to bring together the work of several agencies and institutions.

Cyprus Department of Town Planning and Housing
http://www.moi.gov.cy/
Phaedon Enotiades (Town Planning Officer), tel. +35722408000

23/09/2001

Phaedon Enotiades

research

Urban Policy > Urban environment

Cultural heritage