Research In Urban Historical-Cultural Heritage Preservation Based On Sociocultural Sustainability

Sustainable development and heritage planning face a constant struggle between preserving cultural heritage and achieving economic growth and modernization. Traditionally, in western countries sustainable development has prioritized environmental and economic dimensions for development. At the same time, cultural heritage understandings have been determined by Eurocentric perspectives, focusing on the aesthetic dimensions, the distinction between material and immaterial heritage, as well as on the urban heritage matters regarding to its material condition. As a consequence, there is an evident absence of social and cultural perspectives in urban historical-cultural heritage planning and research, which are usually focused on the physical forms and economic approaches.The Pacific and Asian regions erected sociocultural sustainability approximation as an alternative proposal to understand sustainable development. Since the last two decades, facing the fact that the characteristics of their development features do not correspond to western parameters, while recognizing their local cultural and social enriching background, countries in this region have proposed alternative ways to address development based on cultural and social dimensions. Contrary to what is normally understood, before the sociocultural components of development were accepted and adopted the way they are currently acknowledged in western academies, in Asia this approach was already practiced.Such alternative approaches, have brought new ways to manage heritage and to stand urban planning practices in correspondence with the twenty-first century development challenges, as well as world’s economy and cultural re-organization of the population. Planners, developers and policy makers have become more and more interested in finding alternative ways to approach sustainable development based on sociocultural sustainability understandings.Nevertheless, academic and practical approximations for social and cultural dimensions of sustainable development are still under construction and need to be matured. Thus, research and planning concerning the relationship between sociocultural sustainability and cultural heritage plays almost no role within the sustainable development debates. One of the main reasons of these circumstances is the "immaterial" condition of social and cultural concepts within development matters.To expand the boundaries of urban historical-cultural heritage preservation based on sociocultural sustainability, it is fundamental to "materialize" its ways of application and projections within the urban planning framework. Current research on urban planning methods regarding this subject is still a wide and incipient framework of analysis that needs to be explored. It is time to take heritage preservation to a place beyond the arts and aesthetics, enhancing its political influence in urban development processes.Based on Critical Heritage Studies and non-Eurocentric perspective, the study presented here analyzes why the urban planning framework for the preservation of urban, historical and cultural heritage should be based on sociocultural sustainability. This leads to conservation processes joined not only by economic and environmental dimensions, but also by the sociocultural ones, having as a result the improvement of the quality of life and well-being of communities, based on cultural principles.The objective of this research is to build a clear framework on urban planning field for urban historical-cultural heritage preservation to be based on sociocultural sustainability, as well as proposing more concrete research methodological approaches, mechanisms, tools and guides in this respect. Generally such approaches are theoretical but not concrete when the planning exercise becomes a practice. This research aims to integrate parameters of how to research and materialize qualitative-quantitative research patterns for urban historical-cultural heritage preservation within this mentioned framework, which can be used by social researchers as well as planners, policy makers and other professionals who based their professional exercise in more visual and pragmatic tools.In that sense, this document outlines the conceptualizations and theoretical approaches to sociocultural sustainability, its core elements of analysis and application, policies and its framework of action within urban planning sphere; explores the historical approaches, conceptualizations and philosophical academies approximation to urban historical-cultural heritage definition, determines the dimensions, classifications and values of urban historical-cultural heritage; understands and analyzes how the relationship between sociocultural sustainability, urban historical-cultural heritage and urban planning fields can be described and how this link has been developed. The research also analyzes urban historical-cultural heritage core elements of action as well as its social function under the sociocultural sustainability approach. Accordingly, this research identifies the methodologies, tools and guidelines used in the analysis of the urban planning research methods for urban historical-cultural heritage preservation based on sociocultural sustainability approaches based on ethnography and Geographic Information System (GIS).The experience of Tianzifang was selected as the case study of this research because it represents a successful urban historical-cultural heritage rehabilitation experience based on sociocultural sustainability. The community in this area has developed a process of heritage preservation that has brought economic but, most important, social benefits to the residents of the area. The zone achieved a sociocultural sustainable development integrating economic, cultural and social activities that have achieve the enhancing of well-being and quality of life, while interrelating identity, memory and territory notions within a historical and cultural space.