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The Common Historic Urban Core A Reflection of Collective Memory, Window to the Past

Wout van der Toorn VrijthoffVincent Nadin

University of Technology DelftFaculty of Architecture

Emeritus associate professorReal Estate Management

Background in: Civil engineeringCity Planning HousingUrban Planning

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The Common Historic Urban Core A Reflection of Collective Memory, Window to the Past

What is the historic urban core?

What are the common characteristics of the core?

Threats and opportunities

Safeguarding, a new balance between common and private interest

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The Historic Urban Core

The historic urban core is the original settlement which was shaped by a non industrial economy

Related Concepts Inner city City centre Downtown Centre ville Urban centre Central city Central Business District Innenstadt

The Historic Urban CoreThe Romans did establish a long range of strongholds sowing the seed for the development of cities in Europe

Ages later the Vikings did the same. Especially much cities in Ireland and the UK started their life cycle thanks to the vikings.

Most of the cities in Europe were initiated on places which had significance as:• Military strategic places• Natural Coastal harbor• Natural inland waterways• Religious centers• Cross roads• Centers of natural resources (iron, wood, etc)

Defense, Trade, Craft and Religion It took a millennium or more to shape the historic urban core

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Specific Spatial Characteristics:

• Small scale• Maximum of multi functionality• Territorial fixed area• Relatively shrinking area• Life cycle of tenth of generations• Organic grown urban structure (versus born on a computer screen)• Visual complexity and varied urban form• Urban cultural heritage• Small share of public space intensively used• One of a kind

The Historic Urban Core

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Zwolle 1560

Zwolle 1867

The Historic Urban Core of Zwolle 2012

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About 95% of the urban territory (surface m2)was realized in a period that covers the last 5% of its life cycle.(years of existence)

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The Historic Urban Core

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A city is like a treeThe core is the oldest and the very best part of the tree

Common source characteristicsValue and Meaning

10Our Urban Sapwood

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And how we handle itElke volgende generatie is geneigd de daden van haar

onmiddelijke voorgangers lager in te schatten en ondertussen de reputatie van een verder verleden in ere te herstellen’

Lowenthal, D., 1985, The past as a foreign country, London, Cambridge University Press

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Common source characteristicsValue and Meaning

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Common source characteristicsCitationsPeople generally prefer historical places to modern architecture (Nasar, 1998).

Historical sites create a sense of continuity with the past, embody the group traditions and facilitate place attachment (Devine-Wright & Clayton, 2010; Hay, 1998; Hayden, 2001; Altman&Low, 1992)

People prefer the visual complexity and varied urban form of traditional settlements to homogenous modern built forms. (Hubbard, 1993)

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Common source characteristics

According to Richard Florida the high educated creative class values historic inner cities because it satisfies their longing for authenticity (Florida, 2002)

Citations

Cultural and culinary facilities in the setting of an historic urban core are much more appreciated and are therefore more valuable than the same facilities in a new build cultural center (Santana, 2002)

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Common source characteristics

An old man marked and carved by life and a new born at the beginning of his path through lifeThe old man with many stories to tell, the new born not yet able to speak

History embedded identity ?

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Common source characteristics

Representation of Collective memory and Identity

A history book you can walk through

Authentic scenery

Meeting place

Major built cultural asset

A marketing tool

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Changes• Shift in roles to play

public/private, more private less public

• Privatisation and deregulation• Shrinking public budgets• Shrinking value of real estate• Public sector staffing reduced• Funding schemes suspended• Selling heritage for profit to

private sector

2008

& Threats• Poor maintanance of heritage• Vaporization of Heritage

expertise• Concessions to authenticity,

value for money

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Opportunities• Historic low interest rates,

money has never been so cheap for so long and years to come

• Public opinion in favour of heritage conservation

• Growth small scale footlose companies in favour of cultural heritage environments

• Growing tourism• Central historic urban living• Willingness to pay for quality• A ‘hungry’ private real estate

development sector

2008

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Revision of the approach:

• a smaller public budget • with a complete different team of players, • a shift in legal rights and responsibilities to lay down in

yet to develop regulations and arrangements.

Safeguarding, looking for a new balance between common and private interest

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The vision and objectives stipulating the future function and characteristics of the core continue to have many similarities in the three countries. Without defining the time perspective and taking a general perspective the following main aspects are the most important:

• a fully occupied or used area, with a strong residential function;

• full use the economic potential of the area, and the specific cultural assets it offers;

• a local policy in which the function of the core is related to that of the other urban areas in the city;

• a management approach in which there is optimally balanced efforts of public, private and civil society stakeholders.

Vision and objectives for Safeguarding,

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A fully occupied or used area, with a strong residential function

As long as places like this can be found in the historic urban core,it illustrates a situation very difficult to turn around(Help to Buy scheme, ‘Living Cities’ fiscal initiative)

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Full use the economic potential of the area, and the specific cultural assets it offers

If you do not use it, you loose it

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A local policy in which the function of the core is related to that of the other urban areas in the city

Keep Small Scale dominant in the coreMove out the Functions in need of a lot of floor space

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A management approach in which there is optimally balanced efforts of public, private and civil society stakeholders

Public space quality improvement: An attractive accommodation for outdoor activities