International Symposium

Sustainable Development ofHistorical Cities in South-East Asia

Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage

International Symposium

Sustainable Development ofHistorical Cities in South-East Asia

Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage

NoteThis book is the proceedings of the Symposium “Sustainable Development ofHistorical Cities in South-East Asia”, held on 7 October, 2017 by the Agency
for Cultural Affairs of Japan, the Japan Foundation Asia Center, and the Japan
Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage ( JCIC-Heritage).
Contents of the proceedings were based on the transcription from recordings or thepapers prepared by the speakers, which were edited by the editors where appropriate.
The English translations of the parts originally spoken in Japanese and Vietnamese
were prepared under the responsibility of the editors. The images without citing
sources in each presentation are provided by speakers.

Contents
Opening Remarks: Look carefully for what is invisible. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Yoshiaki Ishizawa(Chairperson, Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage /Director, Sophia Asia Center for Research and Human Development)

Keynote Lectures
Caring of Our Common Home:
Historic Urban Landscape and Sustaining Developments in Asian Cities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Johannes Widodo (Associate Professor, National University of Singapore)
Lecture 1
Sustaining the Living Heritage in George Town, Challenges of a World Heritage Site. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Clement Liang (Council Member, Penang Heritage Trust)Lecture 2
Conservation of Yangon’s Heritage as a Tool for Sustainable Development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Moe Moe Lwin (Director /Vice Chairman, Yangon Heritage Trust)Lecture 3
The Small City with Big Dreams:
The World Heritage City of Vigan and its Heritage-Driven Sustainable Development.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Eric B. Zerrudo(Director, UST Graduate School - Center for Conservation of Cultural Property and Environment in the Tropics)

Eva Marie S. Medina (Former Mayor, the World Heritage City of Vigan)

Lecture 4
The Conflict Resolution between Hoi An Cultural Heritage Preservation andthe Development in Contemporary Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Nguyen Su (Former Chairman, Hoi An Municipal People’s Council)
Lecture 5
Sustainable Development of Hoi An Ancient Town and Japan’s International Cooperation. . . . . . . 62
Hiromichi Tomoda (Director, Showa Women’s University Institute of International Culture)
Discussion.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Closing Remarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Kunikazu Ueno
(Professor, International Goodwill, Nara Women’s University/Director, the Subcommittee for Southeast andSouth Asia of the Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage)

Opening
Remarks

Opening Remarks:
Look carefully for what is invisible
Yoshiaki Ishizawa

Chairperson, Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage /Director, Sophia Asia Center for Research and Human Development

4
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

“Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage,” established in 2006 through legislation by Diet members, is a organization under thejoint management of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. It aims at “the promotion of international
cooperation for protection of cultural heritage abroad.” We have been working as agroup of experts dealing with cultural heritage, world heritage, cultural assets etc.
worldwide for 10 years since its establishment.
This international symposium is the long-awaited event, through which our
Consortium raises a global request to challenge the historic-city planning in Southeast
Asia. We are honored that many experts from Southeast Asia with great careers andexperiences are assembling here.
They are Prof. Johannes Widodo from Singapore; Mr. Clement Liang from
George Town, Penang; and Ms. Moe Moe Lwin from Yangon, Myanmar. Prof. Eric
Zerrudo from the Philippines will give a lecture titled “The Small City with Big
Dreams,” which in a sense is related to the modern variation of creating a community. As Lecture 4, Mr. Nguyen Su will talk about the City of Hoi An, a historic city,which used to be called Faifo. This city, which I have visited myself many times, used
to have a Japan town. Dr. Hiromichi Tomoda, who is working as a member of Japan’sinternational cooperation team for creating a community in Hoi An, will also talkabout this city. Finally yet importantly, we are honored to have Dr. Ota, a leading
expert in this field, as facilitator who will invite all panelists to touch upon various
topics.
Today, I would like to ask a favor of you.
It is a very simple one. I believe you all know “The Little Prince,” written by aFrench author, Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900-1944). One scene of the story goesas follows.
After a fox had bid goodbye to the Little Prince, this is what he said to him,
“Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart one can see rightly;
what is essential is invisible to the eye.” When the Little Prince asked the fox
as to what he meant by the term “attachment” that he had used earlier, the fox
replied, “it means forming ties.” Then he went on to say, “if you and I were toform ties with each other, we would become mutually indispensable.”
Here is why I have cited this part of the story. Considering the hundreds of yearsof creating a community, there should be many things contained in it that are invisible to and beyond the understanding of those living in the modern times, suchas people who used to live there, their daily lives, customs, and behavioral criteria.
Hence, I would like to ask all the experts assembling here to engage in discussion
under the theme of “Look carefully for what is invisible.” What is invisible, I believe,
contains the most important value and should be handed down to future generations,

Opening
Remarks

who are to create a new community. Then, new generations will live in the new world
and develop new lives, which will lead to the 22nd century.
I would like to ask all of you to listen to everything the speakers have to say.
With this message, I would like to conclude my opening statement. I thank you foryour undivided attention.

5
Opening Remarks: Look carefully for what is invisible

keynote
lectureCaring of
Our Common Home:
Historic Urban Landscapeand Sustaining
Developments in
Asian Cities
1

Johannes Widodo

Associate Professor, National University of Singapore 2

6
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

After studying Architectural Engineering at Parahyangan
Catholic University (Indonesia), earned a masterʼs degreein Architecture from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven(Belgium) and a PhD in the area of Architectural and Urban
History at the University of Tokyo. In addition to his current
position, also serves as Director of the Tun Tan Cheng Lock
Centre for Asian Architectural and Urban Heritage in Melaka(Malaysia) and Executive Editor of the Journal of Southeast
Asian Architecture (JSEAA) published by the Departmentof Architecture of the National University of Singapore. He
also is a founding member of the Modern Asian Architecture
Network (mAAN) and the International Network of TropicalArchitecture (iNTA) and is involved in numerous international
activities to protect Asiaʼs architectural heritage, including
serving as a member of the jury of the UNESCO Asia-Pacific
Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation anddirector of the ICOMOS National Committee of Singapore.

Challenges in conserving urban heritage andsustaining development in Asian Cities
Rapid economic growth in Asia within the lastfew decades has dramatically changed the course of
its architecture and urbanism. The acceleration of thecultural and physical transformation process has led
to the fragmentation and destruction of old urban
fabrics and resulted in a loss of identity and culturalamnesia. Communities in historic neighborhoodand towns have been displaced, authentic culture has
been commoditized, urban and natural environment
have been undergoing tremendous pressures.
The layers of urban history and shared heritages
that kept the shared memory of the whole community for many generations and centuries has beenforgotten and, in many cases, gradually or completely
erased. Asian cities and architecture plunged into
identity crisis and had no clear direction, it is unfortunate that the economic and technological progress
have driven us into unfriendly and unsustainable city
without identity and sense of community.
In this situation, we often asked ourselves whether
it is still possible to conserve our tangible and intangible memories and identities, and at the sametime to allow economic growth and to accommodate contemporary necessities and modern lifestyles.
One important instruments to manage conservationand development in a comprehensive and sustainable manner, after witnessing worldwide problems
on many World Heritage sites, in 2011 UNESCO
General Conference has recommended the adoptionof Heritage Urban Landscape (HUL) instrument by
all member states.
This keynote paper will underline the fundamental
principles of heritage conservation and managementin the process of managing changes, by focusing on
the human cultural sustainability and environmental livability. The emphasis is on the importance ofthe community, ethics, empathy, advocacy, empowerment, respect, and humility of conservation that aredesperately needed today.
Commoditization ofhistoric towns and buildings
Preservation of heritage means preserving the intangible and tangible identity and characteristics ofa place and a community. Economic viability in conservation of historic areas and buildings is absolutely
necessary, but too much emphasis on economic gain

keynote
lectureFig. 1 Malacca (Malaysia)
Top‐down official World Heritage area vs Bottom‐up comprehensive inventory

Malacca, Malaysia
monorailproject
demolitions,inappropriate uses
& constructions
gentrification
HISTORIC CORE
concrete boardwalk
along the riversides
new hotel
speculative developmentson reclaimed land7

dam

revolving
tower

Fig. 2and profiteering may have negative effects.
Many countries and cities in Asia are trying hardto draw mass tourism to boost the economy, through“city branding”. International recognition such as
UNESCO World Heritage status has been seek3, butthen is hijacked by governments and investors as amarketing tool or “branding” to attract more tourists
and investment for profit making. UNESCO World
Heritage status is often misunderstood by local governments as “recognition for success in attracting
tourists for the sake of getting more tourists,” as they
have forgotten the more fundamental responsibility
to guard the cultural and physical integrity of theplace, which now belongs to the world community.
The rapid growth of budget airlines, especially acrossEast- and Southeast- Asia has also contributed tremendously to the expansion of the tourism industry.

Tourism and consumerism have turned heritage into
a commodity for instant gratification, leading tourban gentrification. Heritage sites have been turned
into “theme parks.”
These negative impacts of mass tourism havecaused irreversible damaged to heritage sites andbuildings across the region. An adaptive re-use approach is used excessively and insensitively, imposing
permanent damage or loss to the historical layers of
the buildings and sites. Façadism, the application of
inappropriate building materials and structures, improper usage, loss of traditional craftsmanship, andthe consumerism and commoditization of cultures
and traditions are some examples of negative impacts
on heritage conservation.
The official “historic core” and the “buffer zone”
as defined for the official heritage sites often doesn’t

Caring of Our Common Home:
Historic Urban Landscape and Sustaining Developments in Asian Cities

mall on historic
Padangkeynote
lecturematch with the actual perception of significance by
its own urban community, and have failed to maintain the integrity and to protect the entire corpus of
the “real” heritages belonging to and defined by thecommunity. Weak heritage protection laws and regulations (such as the transfer of development rights,
land-rent control, zoning regulations, etc.), combinedwith weak implementation and monitoring (such as
corruption, the lack of an effective monitoring system, etc.), aggravated by greed and speculation, haveallowed inappropriate transformations and uncontrolled development within the historic core and thebuffer zones. The community is often powerless indefending their heritage and themselves (Fig. 1, 2).
UNESCO World Heritage status has be used (orabused) as “branding” to sell tangible and intangible heritage for mass consumption by the tourism
industry. Macau, Melaka, and Penang are sufferingfrom the problems arising from mass tourism which
threatened the social and cultural integrity of their
tangible and intangible heritages4. Similarly, other
UNESCO World Heritage Sites, such as Lijiang
and Kaiping in China, the commoditization of heritage, “Disney-sation,” and “cultural-themepark-isation” have seriously damaged the cultural and social
authenticity of the place and the local community.
They have become a seriously endangered or damaged World Heritage sites (Fig. 3, 4).
In Singapore, the Botanical Gardens has been
recently included in the UNESCO World Heritage
list in July 2015. Right after the news broke, a private
condominium development nearby the site put up a
big advertisement in the national newspaper’s property section with an attractive title: “Green living
overlooking a Unesco World Heritage Site”, sayingthat it is the only freehold condominium overlooking

8
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Lijiang (China)

Kaiping (China)
Fig. 3 Commoditization, Disney‐sation, Cultural Theme Park

Fig. 4 Macau (China)

keynote
lectureinto the World Heritage Site. The private and commercial sectors are very quick in jumping and catching the opportunity for cash (Fig. 5).

Difficulties in dealing with the past memory
layers in moving into the future
Another problem in conserving and sustaining theheritage in Asia is pertaining to the painful memoryand deeper historical layers of the past due to colonization, decolonization, conflicts, and contestationthat still persisting until today.
The World Heritage listing of Japan’s Meiji
Industrial Revolution sites of Hashima Coal Minein 2015, for example, has triggered anger reactions from Korea. The demolition of the Japanese
Government-General Building and the reconstruction of the Gyeongbokgung complex in Seoul for thecommemoration of the 50th anniversary of the end of
the Second World War (1995) is another example ofdifficulties in dealing with the past memory.
Another example from Singapore is the Old Ford
Motor Company5 in Upper Bukit Timah Road.

It was the place where the British surrendered to
the Japanese army on 15 February 1942. The factory building with Art Deco façade was Ford’s firstmotor car assembly plant in Southeast Asia, built
in 1941. Before the war, the factory was used by the
British Royal Air Force to assemble fighter planes.
Subsequently the Japanese took over the factory andused it as the first military headquarter, then it was
taken over by Nissan motor company to assemble
military trucks and other vehicles for Japanese military during the occupation. After the war the Ford
Motor Company resumed its operation from 1947
until it was closed down in 1980 and subsequently
abandoned. The building was gazetted as National
Monument on the 64th anniversary of the surrenderof Singapore on 15 February 2006, and was turned
into an exhibition gallery and archival repository
called “Memories at Old Ford Factory”. The only
part that has been “preserved” (or technically “restored”) from the original factory building is the Art
Deco façade and the boardroom where the surrender
took place. The rest are new structures, including a

9Fig. 6

Caring of Our Common Home:
Historic Urban Landscape and Sustaining Developments in Asian Cities

Fig. 5 Singapore Botanic Gardens (UNESCO WH – July 2015)

keynote
lecturelarge contemporary box structure near the road entrance (Fig. 6).
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the fallof Singapore, the gallery has been renovated andreopened as “Syonan Gallery” on 15 February 2017,
but this name has triggered some protests and publicdebate among Singaporean because of the painful
memory from the Japanese occupation period when
the city was named “Syonan”. This sentiment mightcause a political problem, and the government madea statement on 16 February 2017 that the full nameof the gallery is actually “Syonan Gallery: War and
Its Legacies” and there was no intention to glorify
the Japanese occupation. The full name was installed
quickly overnight, but the controversy over the word
“Syonan” continued in the mass-media. Finally, thenext day, on 17 September 2017, the governmentchanged the name again into “Surviving the Japanese
Occupation: War and Its Legacies” by dropping completely the word “Syonan”.

Learning from these cases, conservation sometimes is not a simple issue, because certain memory
may stay stronger and longer within the community
and the nation. The historical and ideological issues
related to the narrative of heritage shall be considered very carefully, and often demolition can offer thebest solution for the sake of the greater good.

Balancing conservation and development:
HUL and HIA instruments
One important instrument to manage conservation and development in a comprehensive andsustainable manner, after witnessing worldwide
problems on many World Heritage sites, UNESCO
General Conference recommended Heritage Urban
Landscape (HUL) instrument in 2011 to all member states. It is urging the member states and local
authorities to undertake comprehensive surveys andmapping of the city’s natural, cultural and humanresources; to reach consensus using participatory

10
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Fig. 7 Historic Urban Landscape (HUL)Fig. 8 Kyoto City Landscape Policy – Forming Timelessand Radiant Kyoto Landscape(http://whc.unesco.org/document/116517)

Fig. 9 Heritage homeowner’s preservation manual
World Heritage City of Vigan Philippines(http://www.unescobkk.org/resources/e‐library/publications/article/heritage‐homeowners‐preservation‐manual‐for‐the‐world‐heritage‐site‐of‐vigan‐philippines‐publishe/)keynote
lectureKeeping the significance,
strengthening sense of belonging
Japan is well known as the good keeper and maintainer of its own natural and cultural heritages, andtherefore is able to preserve its unique identity andmemory from very distance past till present and definitely into the future. For example, Kyoto has 17
UNESCO World Heritage sites/objects within thecity area but it is rather difficult to find any signage
or logo of UNESCO WH in any of these site8.
While in other cities like Lijiang or Melaka, they
are proudly displaying the logo and the words inprominent places - like selling or promoting branded
commodities to tourists. In many cases Japan is not
falling into "cheap" commercialization of heritage
trap, but is able to keep their cultural and religious
pride in dignified manner. Tourists, pilgrims and believers are flowing in and boosting the economy, but
not superseding the ritual and tradition.
In 2007 the city of Kyoto came out with a holistic
approach with a clear aim to keep Kyoto as Kyoto

Fig. 10 Townscape Ordinance:
Community Planning Based on History(Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan)

for the next one hundred year and beyond. It is
manifested in the “Kyoto City Landscape Policy –Forming Timeless and Radiant Kyoto Landscape”
urban conservation and urban planning policy basedon the strategic coalition of all stake holders (Fig. 8).
The city of Vigan in the Philippines issued“Heritage homeowner’s preservation manual” for all
homeowners in the UNESCO World Heritage site,
so the community and individual can take the responsibility in keeping and maintaining their own
properties following a simple and clear guidelines(Fig. 9).
The community of city of Kawagoe in Saitama
Prefecture, Japan formed “Kawagoe Kura no Kai” asa Non-Profit Organization in 1983, to campaign inorder to protect the townscape conservation and at
the same time revitalizing the commerce. The members comprise of Kawagoe Junior Chamber members,
young shop-owners, researchers, and general public. In 1987 the Townscape Committee was formed
through the enactment of the Townscape Ordinancefor the town planning on voluntary basis, but recognized by the government, in 1987. The bottom-up
efforts at the beginning, eventually would become
legal/official guidelines and regulations (Fig. 10).
In Lampang, Thailand, the restoration of Wat
Pongsanuk which won the UNESCO Asia PacificAwards for Cultural Heritage Merit Award in
2008, is another example of a successful community-based conservation efforts. The steps include:building community awareness, capacity, and enthusiasm; fund raising efforts; historical research andin depth documentations; and conservation intervention which include both experts and community
members in a joint effort to restore a modest temple
building into something of its original character. The

11
Caring of Our Common Home:
Historic Urban Landscape and Sustaining Developments in Asian Cities

planning and stakeholder consultations on whatvalues to protect for transmission to future generations and to determine the attributes that carrythese values; to assess vulnerability of these attributes
to socio-economic stresses and impacts of climatechange; to integrate urban heritage values and theirvulnerability status into a wider framework of city
development, which shall provide indications of areasof heritage sensitivity that require careful attention
to planning, design and implementation of development projects; to prioritize actions for conservationand development; and to establish the appropriate
partnerships and local management frameworks foreach of the identified projects for conservation anddevelopment, as well as to develop mechanisms forthe coordination of the various activities between
different actors, both public and private (Fig. 7).6
Complimentary to the HUL, another important
instrument in managing the change and permanence(development and conservation) is the Heritage
Impact Assessment (HIA), which is recommended
by ICOMOS7, ICCROM, and UNESCO. HIA isa tool to assess threats from various types of large
scale development activities to the heritage sites, suchas infrastructure development, new buildings, urban
renewal, change in land use, inappropriate tourism
activities, etc.

keynote
lecturebiggest achievement of this project is not only thegood restoration results, but most importantly is therestoration of the community’s capacity to sustain
their own heritage and increasing their economic
prosperity at the same time (Fig. 11).

12

Holistic urban heritage conservation andsustainable development
We have a common responsibility to manage developments, and at the same time to preserve our natural environment and cultural heritage. Conservation,
preservation, restoration, revitalization efforts of ourmaterial and living heritages should be aimed towards social-cultural continuum or the “intangible
permanence”. The community’s cultural continuum
can be kept and nurtured by preserving the community’s tangible and intangible cultural heritages
through faithful and careful restoration, and throughsensitive and sensible care and interventions. The
dying or missing traditional skills and craftsmanshipcan be revived and restored through training andeducation, and to be updated with the current technological advancement (Fig. 12).
Middle ground to bridge the top-down policy andbottom-up initiatives in conservation and preservation should be created to include all stake holders.
Recognitions, such as awards and heritage status,
should be aimed to generate greater impacts towards
a more sustainable and effective heritage policy, planning, and management of the community’s tangible
and intangible cultural heritages, and not for the sakeof marketing or branding for the sake of mass-tourism money.
Differences, variations, and diversities are important as cultural energy that generates dynamism
and vitality to the city and its inhabitants should bewell maintained and managed so the positive energy will not turn into negative or destructive forces.
Empowering the community to enable them to reproduce and to maintain their own tangible and intangible heritages is the only way to ensure longterm sustainability. Appreciation and enjoyment oftraditional values and products should be promoted
through various ways, especially to the younger generation. Social media platforms might be useful forthis effort.
Conservation is management of change. Good
conservation management plan shall include these

Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Fig. 11 Community‐based conservation(Wat Pongsanuk, Lampang (Thailand), 2008)
・“How to keep X as X for the next 100 years or more”
・Key elements:
1. Empowered Community
2. Sustainable Environment
3. Robust Infrastructure
4. Cultural Authenticity
5. Economic Viability
6. Social‐Cultural‐Physical Continuity
・Shall includes: Restoration Plan, Maintenance Plan, Development Plan
・Fundamental prerequisites of all stake‐holders and in all processes: Ethics, Consensus, Transparency, Accountability
Fig. 12 Good Conservation Management Plankeynote
lecturefollowing key elements: empowered community, sustainable environment, robust infrastructure, culturalauthenticity, economic viability, and social-culturalcontinuum. The planning and implementation of theconservation and development plans shall be basedon ethics, consensus, transparency, and accountability.
After all, heritage conservation is not about commodification or branding, but about commitment,
responsibility, empathy, advocacy, empowerment, respect, humility, and care, to protect our inheritancefor the sake of the next generations. Our heritage– also our environment – is fragile. Therefore sustaining development while taking a good care of
the heritage is like caring our own home andfamily for posterity.

Notes:
1 This keynote paper is presented in the International
Symposium “Sustainable Development in Historical Cities
of Southeast Asia”, organized by Japan Consortium forInternational Cooperation in Cultural Heritage, National
Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Japan, in Tokyo, 9October 2017.
2 Associate Professor at the Department of Architecture,
School of Design and Environment, National University

13
Caring of Our Common Home:
Historic Urban Landscape and Sustaining Developments in Asian Cities

References:・ “Asia Conserved”, Volume I and Volume II, Bangkok:
UNESCO, 2007 and 2013.
・ Ismail, Rahil, Shaw, Brian & Ooi Giok Ling (editors).
“Southeast Asian Culture and Heritage in a Globalizing
World – Diverging Identities in a Dynamic Region.” Surrey:
Ashgate, 2009.
・ UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban
Landscape: http://whc.unesco.org/en/activities/638
・ Guidance of Heritage Impact Assessments for Cultural
World Heritage Properties. Paris: ICOMOS, 2011, downloadable from http://www.icomos.org/world_heritage/HIA_
20110201.pdf

of Singapore. Founder and executive member of mAAN
(modern Asian Architecture Network), iNTA (International
Network for Tropical Architecture), DoCoMoMo Macau,
and ICOMOS Singapore. Member of ICOMOS ScientificCommittee and Shared Build Heritage Committee, associate
member of Asian Academy for Heritage Management.
3 For example on July 8, 2008, two historic cities of the straitsof Melaka (Malaysia), George Town and Melaka, were
designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites because of theiroutstanding universal values: (1) representing exceptional
examples of multicultural trading towns in East and Southeast
Asia through the blending of various cultures imprinted on
the architecture and urban form, (2) a living testimony to themulti-cultural tangible and intangible heritage and traditionof Asia and of the European colonial influences, as expressedin its religious buildings of different faiths, ethnic enclaves,spoken dialects, festivities, dances, attire, art forms, cuisine,and lifestyle, and (3) reflecting the blend of influences thathave resulted in a unique form of architecture, culture, andcityscape that are incomparable elsewhere in East and SouthAsia, especially through an exceptional range of shop-houses
and townhouses from differing eras.
4 Even the historic “Padang Melaka” or “Padang Pahlawan”, ahistoric place in Melaka (Malaysia) where the Tunku Abdul
Rahman, the founding father of Malaysia, on 20 February
1956 made a formal announcement that British had agreed
to grant independence to Malaysia on 31 August 1957, hasbeen turned into a big shopping mall.
5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Ford_Motor_Factory(accessed on 24 January 2017)
6 See UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban
Landscape – http://whc.unesco.org/en/activities/638(accessed on 9 September 2016)
7 See http://www.icomos.org/world_heritage/
HIA_20110201.pdf (accessed on 9 September 2016)
8 One of the oldest Shinto sanctuaries in Japan built around
6th century, Kamo-mioya-jinja (or popularly known as
Shimogamo-jinja) in Kyoto is one of the historic places
inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list, but nologo or sign of UNESCO WH here, only a simple “world
heritage” inscription in Japanese on a stone - barely visible near one of many the entry points into the big site.

Lecture 1

Sustaining the Living
Heritage in George Town,
Challenges of a World
Heritage Site
Clement LiangCouncil Member, Penang Heritage Trust

14
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

A graduate of the University of New South Wales (Australia).
In addition to his current position, plays an active role inpromoting preservation of heritage and heritage tourism
design with a number of NGOs and the tourism sections oflocal governments, as a social history researcher. Focusingon ethnic minorities in particular, he studies communities
of Japanese immigrants in prewar Malaya and has been
involved in the past in production of a television documentary
program on history addressing similar themes. Recently,
he has lectured at universities across Asia on the subjectsof local heritage sites and tourism and has participated inresearch conferences related to heritage preservation. He
also attended the 35th National Urban Development Seminarin Fukuoka in 2012 as a representative of Malaysia, delivering
a lecture on issues in Penang after its addition to the World
Heritage List, and is active in Indonesia, Taiwan, Singapore,
Thailand, and elsewhere in workshops on preserving heritage
as well as sharing results of NGO activities.

I’d like to introduce my presentation. What I’mgoing to present is about people, to continue fromwhat Professor Widodo was telling us just now.
Today, I’m going to touch on what happened toGeorge Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in the year 2008. If you know where George
Town – it is the capital city of the State of Penang,located in the north western part of Malaysia, perhaps some of you have been there (Fig. 1).
If you look at the map (Fig. 1), it shows you quite
a big area that’s included under the World Heritagesite. We have a core zone and also a buffer zone as
designated by UNESCO. There are a total of 92
streets and roads in these two zones. It’s perhaps oneof the biggest UNESCO sites in Asian region.
Talking about the history of George Town, it was
set up more than 200 years ago by the British wholanded in Penang and set up George Town, named
after King George III.
The town has grown significantly in the beginning
as a trading port. If you look at the map, George
Town is located at the entrance of the Northern partof the Straits of Malacca. Straits of Malacca today
still plays a very important role in the international
trades. Most of the ships from Asia to Europe orEurope to Asia or to the Middle East have to use
and pass through the Straits of Malacca and very
strategically situated.
The British intended and planned George Town
to be their main trading port in Asia and it hasflourished since. Many ships came and the town developed from a small fishing village to a metropolitan
with many immigrants from many parts of the world.
Saying so, George Town also went through someperiods of decline especially in the past two decades.
Important functions like the port facility has moved
from the island to the mainland due to the limited
land available in the city of George Town, and thattook away its traditional role as a regional free trading port.
Then we started to see many other importantfunctions like the central administrations, the wholesale market also moved out of George Town, andthe banks, while they don’t really move out, but set
up many branches out of the old town where many
new suburbs were sprawling. As a result, the central
capital role of George Town has somehow been diminished or minimized.
This is followed by the closing down of civic center,

Lecture 1

ジョージタウン

Fig. 1 George Town

like in Hong Kong and Singapore. Of course, somepeople wanted the city to model after the typical American city urban setting, having high riseclustered in the town center, a symbol of pride andprogress.
Alas, in year 2008, George Town was inscribed as
World Heritage Site. The conservationists fought fornearly 20 years to reach this stage. There are three criteria listed under Outstanding Universal Values that
George Town met. Two are related to architecture
and multi-culturalism. The third one is the conservation of intangible living heritage. Unfortunately, thisis the weakest part of the criteria that George Town
is trying to preserve. For architecture, the old buildings are now under close monitoring by the authority
and quite well preserved, thanks to this UNESCO’s
imposed condition which requires all the historicbuildings must be saved and protected in the world
heritage site. But preserving living intangible heritage is a big challenge.
Certainly, we are in a crisis mode. We don’t know
how to do it, how to protect the traditional skills, thetradesmen or these people living in George Town,
many of them are old, aging people. If all these people are gone, will we lose one of the criteria of the
Outstanding Universal Values as stated in our inscription to protect the living heritage?
Walking in George Town nowadays, one can still
see the traditional shops selling incense, flowers,

15
Sustaining the Living Heritage in George Town, Challenges of a World Heritage Site

the City Hall, Town Hall and the Municipal Council.
One by one, they ceased to carry out full service tothe public in the old city quarters. This is damaging
to George Town as a leading capital city. On top of
that, we did not have good transportation system.
The buses were unreliable, and sometimes they didn’t
come, and forced passengers to wait for long while.
This was aggravated by narrow streets and limited
parking spaces in George Town. As mentioned before, George Town was developed more than 200
years ago. The streets were narrow and designed forhorses, bull-carts and pedestrians in the beginning.
Today, if you go to George Town, you’ll find car
parking has become a big problem everywhere. The
suburbs are growing, many townships have come up
all over the island, and people do not need to go to
George Town to do their shopping, banking andeven to visit the government offices. They are mostly
out of the old town.
The other good thing that came or some said it’sa bad thing, is the inscription of the World Heritagesite of George Town. This is one of the strategies, andI would say by both government and the people ofPenang, as we wanted it. Seen as one way to save theGeorge Town from further decline and gentrification.
From the 1960s onwards, we saw this town not
growing anymore and the people were moving out,
and then demolition of many old historic buildings
in town in favor of high-rise modern development,

Lecture 1

16
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

spices, and some old people repairing the furnitureand making hats, however, it’s not a rosy picture (Fig.
2). Because one thing is that many young people will
not follow their parents’ step to continue this kind of
old trade in the future.
Fig. 3 is the last lantern man, a Chinese lanternman, unfortunately, he died 2 years ago. Nowadays in
Penang, we do not have any one who can make these
big-size lanterns. The Chinese community likes tohang this kind of big lanterns with their family clan
names written on it to signify the building is owned
by which family, but it is less commonly practiced
now. If you want to order one, perhaps you have toorder from China, but the quality of the workmanship has never been good as compared to those madefrom traditional tradesmen and lantern makers in
George Town.
So, this is a big challenge. We’re losing thesepeople. How are we going to solve this problem?
Unfortunately, in Malaysia, our government is notreally putting efforts into cultural preservation, especially talking about the traditional skill and trades.
It’s like, let the market force decides. If people don’t
want them, let them go. Now, we have many cheap
products not Japan, but China – coming in, okay –Japan products used to be like that about 50, 60 years
ago, but now we’re talking about China. They canmass produce things, and they are cheaper but thequality may be compromised. Do we need to retain

these traditional skilled people?
But don’t forget, without these traditional skills,
we will not have our soul. They make up the soul ofthe city. People who walk in the streets, buy thingsfrom them. This is how people interact with one another in a city. We do not like to see everyone goesto supermarkets for everything that they need withlittle human interaction. Sad thing is, the numbersof traditional tradesmen are dwindling, one by one,they are gone. Some retire, some died due to old age.
And for some, they just could not afford to pay thesky rocketing rent.
I have to say one of the bad things about World
Heritage Site is the consequence of increase in therent in the UNESCO site. Many shops are charging
much more – you have to pay 10 times more compared to before the World Heritage listing. Many
tradesmen just left, they cannot afford it.
So, who will help them? A good question. Okay.
Let me share something about this organization that
I belong to, Penang Heritage Trust, an NGO (Fig. 4).
No funding from the government and sometimes theauthorities don’t like it, because it is run by a group ofconservationists who seem to make a lot of noise. But
we are there for a purpose. We were set up more than
30 years ago, by a group of people concerned with thedestruction of heritage. In the beginning, our focus
was on the building heritage.
In Penang and in particular George Town, we used

Fig. 2 Endangered Living Heritage of George Town
Following the rent control repeal of 2000, George Town was being depleted of its living communities with hefty rent increase.
Due to gentrification the city was being depleted of its intangible treasures, the people that define the local inheritance.

Lecture 1

to have something like 14,000 old buildings, this represented one of the largest in South East Asia, butfrom the 1980s, the developers were coming in, theysaid, “let’s turn George Town into another Hong
Kong, yes, high rise buildings in old town is good foryou”. The government agreed and an urban renewal
campaign was started by the government, a lot of old
buildings disappeared since then.
If you go to George Town, you’ll be shocked bya huge tall building in the middle of the old town.
It’s called Komtar, it has 68 floors, at that time, it
was the tallest in SE Asia, when completed in 1988.
Of course, now no more in the world top ranking inheight and it slipped into a long period of neglect
and poor maintenance and lesser and lesser people
went there for shopping.
Then more people started to pay attention to theirenvironment, how to preserve their heritage, either

buildings or the living heritage. Here let me focus on
the intangible aspect of the heritage. It is a wonderfulthing. Unlike Malacca, as Professor Widodo said,
which has turned it like a theme park. George Town
may be moving to that direction, but we have a lotof concerned citizens that keep voicing out. We do
not like making George Town another Disneyland.
Neither do we want it to be a theme park. We want
the city for the people of George Town. These are thepeople, if we can keep them and also continue with
their living style, though with some kind of adaptation with the modern times. But if you happen tocome to George Town, you can feel it. People still livein this city in their own traditional way.
We are not there to act for the tourists. Whether
tourists are coming or not, it should not impact ourlifestyle. So, how to recognize what is called the intangible heritage. First of all, we must do some work

17

Fig. 4 Penang Heritage Trust (PHT)- identify skills, particularly when under threat and enhance occupational viability- acknowledge individual artisanship in the face of globalized uniformity- protect the artisans- acknowledge the challenge of mass need vs time-consuming artisanshipFig. 5 To save the Intangible Heritage, we need to

Sustaining the Living Heritage in George Town, Challenges of a World Heritage Site

Fig. 3 World Heritage listing for intangible heritage
But the artisans are growing old and their numbers aredwindling... Who will take their place?

Established in 1986 by concerned citizens of Penang who
fear that because of modernisation, George Town will soon
devoid of its old heritage buildings & its living heritage.
They band together, coming from all walks of life, from awide range of expertise, including architects, authors, travel
agents and also historians.

Lecture 1

to identify the skill that is under threat. In Penang
we have skilled workers who work in the traditional
food industry. Traditional food and Penang is what
we are very proud of and it is commonly acknowledged that we are the best and we have the best foodin Malaysia.
But, unfortunately, we’re seeing many of thesecooks or those who prepared the traditional food are
aging and leaving the industry (Fig. 5). Some of theirchildren do not want to continue their fathers’ profession. Instead we are seeing some foreigners coming in to cook our local food. Of course, you can tell
the big difference. In the past decades, we have many
foreign workers from other countries like Bangladesh
coming to work in Penang, and you can find themworking in the kitchens. Sometimes the cooks got

18
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

- There is a need to document the skills of the artisans- To fulfill the challenge of sustainability, apprenticeship has
to be promoted
Fig. 6 Sustainability of our cultural heritage will be theend product

Dato Chuah Thean Teng
(Batik Artist)

lazy or wanted a break, then you see those foreign
workers took over and started cooking for us, and thetaste changed and is no longer authentic.
One thing we learnt was the need to identify theskill, which is under threat.
Then we identify the people, the local people, who
are doing the work. The artisans, skill masters andindividuals, and we are facing a lot of challenges fromforeign imports but what can we do to protect theskilled local people. We do recognize there are cheap
imports competing with our local products and displacement by foreigners now.
So, what can we do about it? Do we need to dosomething to protect or should we encourage our
local people to come up with systematic plans tocontinue and to sustain our trades, our lifestyle, ourown traditional food and things like that. How do we
do that? The government has no solution. Perhaps
they are sitting there and waiting for some miracle
to happen.
It was a crucial time that we started to ponder we
had to do something. It should be from the people.
Penang is a good example of bottoms-up approach,unlike Malacca which prefers using the top-down
approach. Whenever the Penang Government
wanted to start something, they would hear manyother voices from the people. This proved to be very
challenging and common in Penang. You can readthe concerns and different opinions expressed in thenewspapers every day, people are against the government’s policies or the government is doing something

Mohd Bahroodin Ahmad
Cultural Expert‘..persons who embody or who have, in the highest degree, the skills & techniques necessary for the
production of certain aspects of penang culture, the life of our people & the continued existence of ourcultural heritage.’
A project by Penang Heritage Trust sponsored by HSBC Bank Bhd & Seven Terraces since 2005
Fig. 7 Intangible cultural assets Living heritage treasures of Penang awards 1

Lecture 1

Dato Lim Bian Yam
Chef Extraordinaire

Yeap Seong Kee
Kebaya Designer

Wan Dee Aroonratana
Menora / Cultural Expert

Kok Ah Wah
Signboard Carver

Md Ooi Sew Kim
Hokkien Glove Puppet Theatre

Lee Khek Hock
Traditional Lantern Maker

against the people’s will and etc.
Anyway, we all wanted to work for the heritage of
Penang and also preserving George Town’s uniqueculture. We wanted to document the traditional skillsof the people soon, and let the trades to continue
from there (Fig. 6). In future, even though the skilledartisans may be gone, we’ll have at least the paper
documentation, videos and recordings of how thethings were prepared, and the steps that they went
through. It’s important, first of all, to document theskills systematically and let people understand why
these skills are important to us and why they are
unique to our own people.
Sustainability of our cultural heritage should be
one of the end results that we are looking at. We want
to recognize the living heritage, through what wecalled Living Heritage Treasure Award. Surprisingly,
this has never been done by government, but by an
NGO like Penang Heritage Trust. I think this ideaof recognizing and awarding living heritage people
actually came from Japan in what they called Ningen
Kokuhō (Fig. 7).
The award is to recognize those prominent

artisans, skilled people who can be musicians, engravers, prominent chefs and likewise (Fig. 8). We
recognized them by giving life-time awards. The idea
started in the year 2005. Of course, we are not arich NGO, we have to get sponsorship from somebig corporates which would like to help every year
through their CSR, e.g. the Community Service
Responsibility projects. So we worked first of all,with HSBC Bank. They came up with the money
and we worked on the budget to allot eight Living
Heritage awards at any time and each of them will
receive every year, 2,000 ringgit. It was not much, but
it is the way to encourage these people to continue
their trades. They will continue to receive this money
until their death. So, it’s a lifetime reward.
Besides the monetary rewards that are distributed
annually, the awardees are presented with certificatesand plaques in the recognition ceremony, and eachof them is given wide media publicity, usually during
the news conference when the awardee would receive the award from VIPs, first began with the latewife of the previous Prime Minister (Fig. 7). The
awardees can feel proud of their achievements and19
Sustaining the Living Heritage in George Town, Challenges of a World Heritage Site

Fig. 8 Living heritage treasures of penang awards 2

Lecture 1

their contributions to the local arts or the skills thatthey are contributing.
Part of the work on living heritage preservation is
to carry out the full documentation of the awardees’
skills. There are students and researchers sitting withthem for days or weeks to see how they do that workand to document, including taking photos and describe the steps of their work.
The next important thing is how to get the living
heritage awardees to pass their skills the next generation. We don’t want their skills to die with them or• ‘Traditional trades’ – who will teach? who will learn?
Who wants to practice? Good, stable income? Penang
Apprenticeship Programme for Artisans (PAPA), to takethe next step
• Local hawkers and retail – small start-up costs, but grayarea between informal and illegal – need to legalize or
identify best practice?
• Festivals – rituals, festival routes, natural materials, community relationships• Intangibles – traditional ways of doing business, businessnetworks, associations, supply chain etc.

20

Fig. 9 Living Heritage

Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

The Penang Heritage Trust has initiated PAPA, a programme that actively promotes intangible cultural heritage,viewed as an integral part of the World Heritage Site’s universal values. This involves assisting artisans whose skills are
considered traditional to our Penang multi-cultural heritage.
The programme also views promotion, product development
and assistance with marketing as integral in achieving sustainability of the skills.
Fig. 10 PHT-PAPA(Penang Apprenticeship Programme for Artisans )no one knows how to continue on the trades. Though
we have the documentation, but we can never beathaving the so called skill master to teach the students
personally and to pass the skill on through the apprenticeship program, which I will be introducing to
you in the next few slides.
These are the Living Heritage Treasures of Penang.
At any time a maximum of eight awardees, mainly
because our budget raised is only for eight candidates.
Of course we would like to have maybe 20 or 30, but
raising fund is a difficult task. Unless an awardee
has passed away and his or her position vacated, no
new awardee can be nominated. Just happened a few
months ago, we have one master chef who passed
away, so we’ll begin the process to select a new one.
Fig. 8 master chef was very skillful in cooking the
local Peranakan food. We had a Kebaya designer who
made the traditional dress for the Peranakan ladies,
we also have the story teller, Thai Menora dancer, thesignboard carver, and then the puppeteer and also, ofcourse, this master lantern maker who, unfortunately
passed away a few years back (Fig. 8).
About traditional art and trades, well, how do we
define, how to teach and how to continue on? Also,
how do we help the local craftsmen or the hawkers tomarket their products? Can they pay affordable rent
and get a shop in the old town to continue their traditional trade? How do we tag along the traditional
skills network, can we also use that to help them togrow, not just to preserve, but to grow their trades(Fig. 9). These are the few important things that wehave to think about.
Another project that we started is called PAPA,
it stands for Penang Apprenticeship Programme for
Artisans (Fig. 10). It just started few years ago. Thisis still at its infancy stage. We managed to attract apprentices to join, but we also saw some young people
gave up easily and not interested to sustain the traditional trades. Perhaps out of 10, we get two or three
who continue on. But that is a good start. The local
people are trying hard to save the intangible heritage,
while the authority has yet to come out with any
concrete actions at all.
PAPA is essentially to identify who are the traditional skill artisans, assist them with the subsidies and then help to recruit the students whom wetermed as apprentices and who show some interest tolearn. We started to see apprentices coming in, somewere single parents. They like to master a skill, maybe

Lecture 1・ Signboard maker・ Gold/Silversmith
・ Rattan weaver
・ Kebaya/Sulam dress
maker・ Beaded shoes andaccessories
・ Songkok maker・ Chinese Seal Engraver
・ Handmade shoes

Fig. 11 Confirmed Artisans

21

to set up their own business later.
Money subsidies are paid to both the teachers
and the students to motivate them. One is the honorarium for the artisans to teach, and the other tohelp the apprentices who come to attend, and we
pay them the transportation fee. So, they get somereward for coming to learn from the artisan masters.
The artisans get rewards and recognition to publicize

their businesses, along come with a sense of pride.
They are teaching not just for money, but to sustain
a vital heritage.
Well, we want people to buy more of these traditional craft and handmade products using wood or
cloth materials, to sell the products like these so thatthe business can grow and to help the apprentices
to do the marketing to promote their products. We

Sustaining the Living Heritage in George Town, Challenges of a World Heritage Site

Fig. 12 PAPA Project: Handmade Signboard
Apprentices at work and initial products of apprentices

Lecture 1

launched the PAPA program in 2009, where at first
we chose the signboard engravers, in Japanese calledkanban-ya san. We managed to gain wide publicity
on the PAPA program in the public media.
After it started, and we selected eight different
trades that we wanted to focus on; signboard makers,
goldsmith, rattan weaver, Kebaya which is the traditional clothes of the women and the beaded shoes

which is also another classic product from Penang’s
Peranakan community, the ladies make their own
shoes, using the glass beads. Fig. 11 is Songkok which
is a Muslim hat. We also have traditional makers in
town. Chinese seal engraver, the Hanko, we have that
too. Shoes, yes, at one stage, Penang produced many
handmade shoes, but the number is dwindling.
Fig. 12 is how we see the young people come22
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Fig. 13 PAPA Sulam (stitch work)
Demonstration by artisan and apprentices at work

Fig. 14 PAPA Project: Rattan Weaving
Learning in progressLecture 1

in. They are coming in to learn how to make thisKanban, the signboard. Usually, every signboard tells
the name of the owner of the house or the name ofthe shop. Nowadays, most of these signboards are inplastic or with neon lights which look like this but wetell the shop owners, why not use back the old-stylesignboards, because in George Town, we’re enjoying
a retro boom which favors things of the past.
Many tourists come to Penang to enjoy the oldtown atmosphere of the place. If we put back all theseold signboards, they will give the owners a sense of
pride in history of their shops and houses. Others see
you continuing your family tradition, your businesshas been running for 40 years, 50 years or so. Of
course it’s good to have an old signboard, not madeof plastic, modern, neon light or that sort of material.
The sale of old style signboards becomes successful.
We are seeing young students not only learning,they started to pick up the skill and opened new
shops, there is new hope in this traditional trade.
Some other trade requires high skill, and can betedious, like this sulam which is embroidery stitch
work, which is very difficult to make but elegant
for the ladies to wear. However, we are seeing somerenewed interest in the community, especially theyoung mothers and the single parents who come tolearn about this skill. This kind of embroidery product is actually in high demand, because it can only be
handmade and cannot be mass produced.
Fig. 13 shows the start of the work of the students,
we call it sulam. Besides this, we also have the rattan
makers (Fig. 14). Yes, we’re telling them don’t design something too old fashioned. You can use yourown creativity to come out like modern lamp shapes
using the rattan. These are the products that people,
whether tourists or from the modern family, they can

23

Fig. 16 PAPA Project : Nyonya Bead Work
Materials used and learning in progress

Sustaining the Living Heritage in George Town, Challenges of a World Heritage Site

Fig. 15 PAPA Project: Rattan Weaving
Products by apprentices in the first monthLecture 1

Fig. 17 May Lim Siew Sing NYONYA Shoe Beader

24
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Fig. 18 Sim Buck Teik Rattan Weaver

Fig. 19 Little Penang Street Market

Lecture 1

・Enhance old town liveability through better urban
management & stimulate economic revitalization to
win back Penang residents and businesses
・Support business development and cultural entrepreneurship, encourage heritage industry and employment for artisans.
・Encourage creative and cultural industries e.g. by
providing venues
・Infrastructure for food industry, support policy on
hawkers
・“Preserving “old Penang”

Fig. 20 Bring Back the Residents to Old Town

and the place has become quiet at night. Also, thetourists are coming in big numbers and they also
cause some disturbances onto our local community,
but we have to work out an appropriate solution next
time. As for now, we truly want the people to comeback to the old town (Fig. 20).
We want more people to live in the town to support the business there, and not just a tourist place
like a museum. Penang can be creative. While maintaining its old traditional charm, we can have creative
products using our traditional skill. It’s very important to preserve old Penang and yet having thesepeople coming back to stay in George Town.
I would like to say thank you very much.
Terima Kasih. Arigato Gozaimashita.

25
Sustaining the Living Heritage in George Town, Challenges of a World Heritage Sitebuy and place in their houses as decoration or fordaily uses. We like them to be creative in their product design as well using their traditional skill. And
Fig. 15 is the products. You can see the baskets andalso some other tools here, this one is used as scoop.
Fig. 16 shows the first month of learning, and theapprentices can come up with some good product.
This, as I mentioned, are the Nyonya beaded shoes.
These are tedious work, especially when making theshoe cover. Then, we also started the documentation.
Fig. 17 is the jobs we are focusing there, documentation of this Nyonya shoes maker, where it shows how
the shoes were made done, etc. We get it publishedwith some subsidies from government agencies. The
other trades like rattan makers also went through thesame thing (Fig. 18).
Besides, we also help the apprentices to promote
their products in the Sunday markets. You can see
their products when you go shopping in Penang (Fig.
19), you don’t have to buy all the made in China
products, you can have traditional Penang-madehandicraft, and this is what the tourists like.
So, that is what our major hope is. George Town
has suffered big outflow of population or gentrification in recent decades. In the old town area, we used
to have 50,000 people living there but nowadays, thenumber has dropped to approximately 9,000 people,

Lecture 2

Conservation of
Yangon’s Heritage asa Tool for Sustainable
Development
Moe Moe Lwin

Director/ Vice Chairman, Yangon Heritage Trust

26
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

After studying Architecture and Settlement Planning and
Design at the Rangoon Institute of Technology (Myanmar),earned a masterʼs degree in Urban Planning from the Asian
Institute of Technology (Bangkok, Thailand). Later served
as Program Officer in the AITʼs Project Architect Office,National Consultant for the Human Development Index (HDIS)
Project of the United Nations Development Programme
and the United Nations Office for Project Services, andPartner Architect with the architectural firm of Living Design
Architects & Planners, before assuming her current positionin 2012. She is a founding and managing member of the
Yangon Heritage Trust, established in 2012 with like-minded
professionals and members of the business community
aiming to protect and promote Yangonʼs urban architecture
and cultural heritage. Her other roles include Vice Presidentof the Association of Myanmar Architects and Executive
Member of the Myanmar Architects Council, and she
lectures often on sustainable urban development planningand on utilization of cultural heritage.

This chapter was based on the transcription from recording,which was edited by the editor where appropriate.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I would liketo thank sincere – I’d like to say my sincere gratitude
to the organizer, JCIC-Heritage and the supporting
partners. I will be mostly talking about Yangon, conservation of its city heritage as a tool to sustainable
development. First, I will be speaking briefly on thehistory of the city, and then on our efforts to saveits heritage towards a better urban environment of
Yangon.
I am mostly sharing what we are doing according to our experience. To start with Yangon’s history,
Yangon as a city is not that long as a modern city, but
it’s a very small settlement and among rulers in thepast, but Shwedagon has been there for many years,
hundreds of years (Fig. 1).
In 1755, the Myanmar King from the Upper
Myanmar conquered the lower part of Burma from
the Mon Rulers and Yangon was assigned as a port,
the small outpost town near Shwedagon. Then, in
1852, British annexation to the lower Myanmar andYangon was designed to be a capital of Myanmar,
until Myanmar gained independence in 1948 (Fig. 2).
Then, I am dividing those periods into – becauseof many political changes. Myanmar enjoyed a little
bit of democratic people government between 1948
and 1962. Then from 1962 until 2010, we were undermainly another military rule. In 2006, the military
government decided to move the capital 200 miles
away from Yangon and Yangon has been left as only
the economic major center, but not as a government
capital.

Fig. 1 Shwedagon

Lecture 2

2011

1990

after independence
1962

Under British4), the British developed along the port – along theriver, because it’s aiming to become a major port city
in Southeast Asia. Its lay on the grid is similar to like
New York or other cities.
But Shwedagon being here, it’s designed to protect, because its location is on the hill and that is
strategic for the British military reason(Fig. 5).
So the character defining Yangon is Yangon
mainly as a port city, with a British occupation. It’s
created as an important port city and now once second to New York, the busiest immigration port, especially in 1920.
Until the war came in 1941, it enjoyed a lot of

1948

Under
BurmeseKingdom

1852

Under Mon
Rulers

1755

So, the government-owned buildings are left
empty since then. In 2011, the political movement,
political changes happened, and then that becomes
elected democratic government. Then, we are justexperiencing the more democracy development. So,
this is from the custom outpost to become a major
port of Yangon.
So Yangon, Fig. 3 is the early Yangon map before
British occupation, so that this is really a small scattered settlement on a swampy land. This covered only
a few blocks of the existing Yangon, a few blocks
means about 3,000 feet square. So when Yangon waslaid out and planned as a modern city in 1852 (Fig.

27

Fig. 3 Early Yangon map
Before British annexed Lower Myanmar in 1852. It was a scattered settlement
by river confluence.

Conservation of Yangonʼs Heritage as a Tool for Sustainable Development

Fig. 2 Yangon in history

Lecture 2

Fig. 4 Yangon in 1914
In 1852 the city was planned in grid and built on reclaimed land along the river for about
36,000 population. It grew fast to become city of nearly 300,000 population in 1912.

28
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Fig. 5 Shwedagon has always been the dominating overthe cityaFig. 6 Downtown Yangon with the view towards Shwedagon Pagoda in the north in 1930s.
bFig. 7 a) Yangon still has unique collection of late 19th century and early 20th century architecture. These are rare assets. b)
Many of these institutional buildings has been left intact as the country was isolated and frozen from development during
1962-1988.

Lecture 2

development, and many of the first batch of the colonial building has been demolished to replace withthe more modernized building in 1920s, when thecity enjoyed highest economic development, whichslowed down in 1930 with the depression.
The Shwedagon has always been dominatingover the city (Fig. 6). The Downtown Yangon with aview towards Shwedagon Pagoda is always important and until now, because for many of the Yangon
people, viewing and praying and worshipping the
Shwedagon from almost everywhere throughout thecity is very important in the daily life.
This kind of step is that was built in 1895 as animportant administrative seat for the British ruler, but
it’s one of the rare assets (Fig. 7). When Myanmar fell
under the military government, and first the socialist
government, the development has been very slowed
down, and it has isolated itself from the world. So,
the development opportunities were not there. Thatis also fortunate in saving the city’s past in other way.

So here is the growth and change of Yangon overtime (Fig. 10), Yangon as a major center attracting population across the country, of course, this isa major administrative seat and a major economic
center as well as a major educational center. So, people for employing to getting the jobs or wondering to become an artist or a job for the children
to be well educated, they have to send to Yangon.
So, Yangon is becoming bigger and bigger. So now,
present Yangon has nearly 6 million of people. Everyday, there are migrants coming in and the housing,Fig. 8 Yangon has many heritage places that are linked to modern history of political struggles,
internationally and nationally famous figures and businesses.

29
Conservation of Yangonʼs Heritage as a Tool for Sustainable Development

Yangon is not only for the buildings or the built
structures. It is also the places that linked to themodern history of the political struggles, internationally and nationally famous figures and businesses
until recently because the city squares or the heritagebuildings, which are overwhelming the Downtown
Yangon has been a site for the democratic movement
until recently (Fig. 8).

The other character of Yangon is diversity. It’s likeother city like Singapore or Penang that my previous
speaker has talked about. That many religious buildings are there, staying together side by side. There is
no problem or there is no surprise that Shia Muslim
and Sunni Muslim Mosques are sitting side by side.
The Sule Pagoda in the downtown is next to thishuge Sunni heritage Mosque. So, living harmoniously in a diverse culture is a pride of the city. Over90 significant heritage religious sites are located in
the Yangon City.
So Yangon also faced destruction during the war(Fig. 9), but fortunately, many significant buildings,
institutional buildings survived until today. But many
residential parts have been damaged, blocked or the
chunk of the lands has been damaged. The port is
totally damaged during the war.

Lecture 2

and that squatters’ problem is a major task for thegovernment to tackle. So, the population of Yangon
will reach at 10 million by 2040 (Fig. 11). So what
the government would be preparing to accommodate
all these expected population, there are many urban
policies that are yet to be implemented.
So after more than 150 years of its founding,Yangon remains the major port city, but Thilawa Porthas been another choice. The previous government

has started the project supported by Japanese investors and 25 km down the stream (Fig. 12). So when
all these port facilities will be moved out of the city,
so what will happen to the downtown port facilities
is also to be found out.
So, these are the mostly I will be talking about
the built heritage. So Shwedagon as a most significant and a sacred heritage of all, as well as the many

30
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Fig. 9 Yangon during the War
Yangon experienced substantial damages during the Second World War. Luckily
hundreds of residential and institutional buildings survived till today.

Fig. 10 Growth and change of Yangon overtime
Yangon is major urban center attracting population acrossthe country. Increase in migrated population accelerated
past few decades.

Fig. 11 Greater Yangon received more than 100,000 persons moved into the city every year recently. The population of Yangon is expected to reach 10 million by 2040
that doubling the current figure.

Lecture 2

religious buildings, because when Shwedagon has
been there for hundreds of years, the monasteries or
the other religious structures were there. Of course,when the modern city was planned, then the modern
technique and modern architecture has been introduced with the British style, some combination ofIndian or the Chinese migrants, so that’s a lot ofinteresting built environment together with using the
local materials like teak and others (Fig. 13).

After the independence, there were many investments to the democracy government in the post-independence. So, the really 20th century modern
architecture was introduced, and there are a few significant architectural buildings left in the country.
Of course, not only the built environment, for urban
environment it’s like the big lakes are also very important and how people are living in daily lives isalso very important, and it’s dynamic and it’s everFig. 13 No other cities in Southeast Asia can be compared to Yangon in possessing ensemble of 19th and20th century architectural assets.
photo: CDIA/YCDC/YHT project, 201431
Conservation of Yangonʼs Heritage as a Tool for Sustainable Development

Fig. 12 Yangon remains the major port city of the country. As Thilawa new port wasestablished 25km down the existing port, future of yet active downtown port facilities
to be decided.

Lecture 2

growing (Fig. 14).
So, this is showing another diversity of the culture in Yangon (Fig. 15). So you will see Fig. 15athat is the Chinese shop house, but with a little bitof a combination of the arches that it looks like theMughal style. Then, Fig. 15c is a significant monastery, but you will see that the architecture is all mixed.
Then Fig. 15b is the second last King, who’s married, who donated the monastery in Yangon, which is
now more than 150 years, but it’s all decorated with

32
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Fig. 14 Other attributes that define Yangon’s distinct character include post-war modern buildings,
its vast green and blue features, dynamic and vibrant lives of its residents.
a

b

d
c

Fig. 15 Cultural diversity in Yangon can clearly be seen in its architecture.

Lecture 2

the lanterns and everything coming from England.
Fig. 15d is a very famous Catholic Cathedral, but
all these churchgoers are Indian community. So, thecolor is quite vibrant and interesting.
So, Fig. 16 is Yangon in 1930 view. So the mostdominating is after Shwedagon, the Cathedral that
I just talked about, but now you see the Shwedagon
and then the Cathedral has been overwhelmed withall these built up and high structures developed
during the past two decades (Fig. 17). So Fig. 18 isa view towards the east of the downtown, and thenFig. 19 is now the view towards the same site.
In the right center or middle of the Yangon, you
can see where the cultural diversity, Sule Pagoda, andnext to which is the famous Sunni Muslim Mosque,there are also Baptist Church and City Hall. Then
here was the row of cinemas that we all residents
loved to go during a few decades ago, but it was totally demolished to give the way to be developed by
the Shangri-La Hotel Groups, to become a 22 storey.
So, this is where the people feel that the Heritage
and the city is changing under the authoritarian rules
without caring the opinion of the public and the careabout the opinions.
But still some of the streets are left as original. So,
these are the causes which are threatening the heritage. It’s excessive demolishing and replacing with

Fig. 16 Yangon in 1930s

33

Fig. 17 Yangon in 2014

Fig. 18 Yangon in 1930sFig. 20 Loss of built heritage characters
Due mainly to development pressure, lack of policy for urban conservation, excessive demolition, weak regulations,complexed ownership status, unclear land management
and unused properties.

Conservation of Yangonʼs Heritage as a Tool for Sustainable Development

Fig. 19 Yangon in 2014

Lecture 2

the higher apartment buildings. Then the lack ofmaintenance and the lack of funds, or the complexity of ownership, who would maintain, who would
repair, that’s a problem. Then, Fig. 20 was an 1890
Dijuma used mall used shopping mall, but now thebusiness used everyone, they do whatever they liketo do under the same building and then under-usedbuilding, because when the government moved to
Naypyidaw, then many institutional buildings wereleft empty.
Then, the ecosystem development, and then noheight control at all. Then, the threatening of the development pressure. So what we need is the reviewing

34
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Fig. 21 Proposed High Rise Projects in Yangon

and revising of municipal bylaws is very important,where to allow and where not to allow. It is still very
difficult, because especially for the private-owned
land, the government has a little bit of influence on
what private would like to do. So, for example, thisis 1980.
Before 1988, there were municipal bylaws, we still
continue with the British bylaws, so all these floor
height and then the building height were kind oflimited in the City Center, but after 1990s, because
at that time, the military government wanted to develop, and they felt that all these old buildings are theheritage of colonialism, and we don’t have to keep it
anymore and they were like to allow more development and to accommodate the city population moreeasily. So, the height is not limited at all. So, there
are many inappropriate replacements like this acrossthe city.
Of course, the property-led development, it only
depends on the price and on the contractor and what
like Professor Widodo said is corruption and thoseresulted in a very underqualified development. So
the buildings are under-standard, and after 6 years of
its construction, it all looked like the same as those
100-years-old heritage building.
So, Fig. 21 is what’s happening now in the city.
This was the last year list of proposed projects over
12-storey buildings across the city. So mostly, it’sproposed around the Shwedagon Pagoda, around theInya Lake and around the Kandawgyi, where they
can have a better view. So altogether, 160 and someare even proposing over 30 stories. So this is the same
area, where we will consider as a historic city, because
it’s the origin of where Yangon was started.
So, Fig. 22 is the development pattern. It alreadyhas been in place near Kandawgyi and then there
is no clear legal process and because of the weak
Yangon heritage trust is an independent centre of excellence
working to promote and integrate Yangon’s unique heritage
into a 21st century vision of Yangon as one of Asia’s most
liveable cities

Fig. 22 Lack of clear legal processes and weak regulationsin urban development will create unsolvable urban problems in future.

・Advocacy and Outreach・Public Policy Development
・Building Conservation
・Capacity Building・Research and Information
Fig. 23 Our visionLecture 2

regulations in urban development.
So, the burden and the consequence of this highdensity and uncontrolled development will be suffering the city in the future as well before we can solve
any existing problems and the lack of the protectedview of the Shwedagon, because everyone wants tohave a sight of the Shwedagon from their windows,
so every development is competing with each otherto be higher around Shwedagon. But the municipal
already have that kind of rules, they have regulated
in the past decade, but the thing is that enforcement
and not effective at all in application and plus somekind of corruption. Some maybe simply not awareof that will be threatening to our heritage urban
landscape.
This was municipal, I would say so-called protected area, but even in that area, it is not effectively protecting the height of the buildings and thedevelopment.

So, in that time, when the democratic government
was in power in 2011, we started our organization in2012, in order to promote and protect the urban heritage to integrate into 21st century vision of Yangon
as one of the Asia’s most livable cities. So, these
are the main tasks we have. We are a mainly advocacy group to focus on saving heritage. So we were
founded as a non-profit, non-government NGO, andthe things what we are working on are as listed(Fig. 23). So, we’re trying to outreach the people foradvocacy. So we have a different way of advocating
to the government, to the professionals, to the general public, to the management and the government
staff level. Then, those are related things that we’re
doing and we’re also trying to advice on the policy
development related to the heritage conservation as
well as the future development of the city and trying

・ Exhibitions (Global City, photos, street festivals etc.)
・ VIP visit tours
・ Walking free tour for locals
・ photo competitions
Fig. 24 Advocacy Works

to showcase that the historic Yangon revitalizationneeds that repairing and not to damage farther andthe capacity building to disseminate the skills andawareness. So advocacy, we work closely with the
Yangon Regional Government, YCDC that is acouncil, municipal council and other ministries anddevelopments, mainly like the Ministry of Cultureand Ministry of Construction (Fig. 24).
We started to advice on the other regional governments, because of what we are working in the otherregion and states, governments are also asking thethings related to the conservation and developmentin their old regions and states and collaboration withlocal and national organizations. Then, we talk a lot
like here, and through media, social media and social
networks, and then the other kind of like the plaques
and the exhibitions and the city tours and the community engagement projects, that’s to see how thecommunity responds to the heritage environment.
So what we’re trying to mainly say is to people tounderstand what is urban heritage, and why it’s needs
to be important in the urban development policy,
why they need to conserve and then what actions
are threatening. Because sometimes they don’t say byallowing the new development project next to it will
harm the heritage landscape. What are the right conservation actions? It’s also the building techniques aswell as the overall planning control.
Fig. 25, 26 are some of our work, meetings withthe government and the advocacy works are related.
For example, this one is one other NGO, the small
NGO, has been initiated on an upgrading of the backlanes, which are mostly filled with the very filthy garbage for a long time.

35
Conservation of Yangonʼs Heritage as a Tool for Sustainable Development

So, in Yangon, what is different from the other
cities is the downtown that the historic Yangon andthe area is still many people are living. It is not thatthe people move out as in the Penang state, because
we are just trying to develop. Then, these are otherchallenges as facing in Yangon.
So, what we believe a conservation process should
be closely integrated with the long-term planningfor the future of the city as well as the many several changes and developments happening on a daily
basis.

・ Working closely with Yangon Regional Government and
YCDC and other ministries and departments (esp. Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Construction)
・ Talk at Seminar, Workshops organized by government
institutions, professional organizations, universities,
school children)・ Media・ Social media networks

Lecture 2

Fig. 25

36

Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Fig. 26

Lecture 2

Fig. 27 Yangon at tipping point
Having valuable assets of cultural heritage, having river
frontage of about 25 km within the historic city alone,having circular rail that reaches most part of the city, by
systematically planning the strengths of Yangon, the city’surban heritage will not be lost, while more opportunities
are coming up.

We published last year, the Yangon Heritage
Strategy to advise to the new government what the
selected area improvement would bring in the more
economic and the cultural opportunities, so the green
area around the Shwedagon Pagoda and the conservation area to be recognized in the downtown with a
special significant character area as well as the public
realm development (Fig. 29).

Fig. 28 Proposed Heritage Designations
The Downtown Conservation Area covers approximately 2 km2. It contains
almost 3,000 buildings, of which 40% were built before 1945.

37
Conservation of Yangonʼs Heritage as a Tool for Sustainable Development

So, this is the Blue Plaques installation in our advocacy projects to market Yangon has the uniquenessto become one of the major great cities in Asia.
With the tourism and that has pushed the potential to redevelop, so Fig. 27 is the Downtown Yangon
as well as the Shwedagon. This is important that thegreen area and its historic city should be maintained.
It is not to preserve, but to carefully see the future
development of it to maintain its existing assets. The
pink color may be a more new development. So, now
the new government has more emphasized on thisarea for the higher buildings development.
So our topic, our stress is not on a building, individual building renovation, but for the more livable
Yangon. So, legal protection to stop the demolishingand now somehow the municipal government has referred to us for any of the heritage-related properties,
so the character of the streets, blocks and a part ofthe city rather than the first-class conservation of individual landmark buildings. Then, we can carry thecity’s identity and souls and this is what we have tosuggest to the government. So according to our survey and things, these are the potential conservation
areas, where the heritage characters are there. Fig. 28
is what we are urging the government to define as aconservation area, where the new regulations should
be in place, especially height control. Of course, there
are many things that are already kind of destructing
the landscape, but we’ll try what it remains, so morethan 2,000 heritage buildings in the area.

Lecture 2

Fig. 29 Proposed Ideas on conserving historic urban heritage sites and their environments, including tourism.

1) Public transportation
2) Regulatory control and legal process in urban
development
3) Traffic
4) Pedestrian38
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

5) Flooding6) Utilities
Fig. 32 6 Most listed urban challenges
Fig. 30 Having many unused or under-used State-owned
or quasi-State-owned buildings, reused plan must be strategically prepared
YHT encourages to convert into public use for some ofState-owned buildings and allow public access to part ofrenovated buildings so that public will better aware withvaluable urban environment

A- Government-owned landmark buildings that will continue to original use
B- Government-owned buildings that can be changed into
other public use
C- Government-owned buildings that can be leased out toprivate business
D- Partially owned by Government ministries
E- Privately or organization or Trustees owned buildings
F- Private residences
Challenges in revitalizing downtown heritage area include
policy and legal solution to complexity of ownership status,
car parking solution, financial arrangement, infrastructure
investment and public realm improvement
Fig. 31 Types of heritage buildings according to ownership and use

So, having unused state-owned projects to be assessable for the public and the more cultural facilities
to be converted from these old buildings. So the new
government has started this building to become anational library, and we are helping in the technicaladvices (Fig. 30).
So, there are types of heritage buildings according
to ownership and use. So, the government-owned, so
there are six different kind of – some can be totally
government projects, some can be a donation or thefunders’ investment, and some can be changed into
the public – private businesses (Fig. 31). Then, someof that taxation or the funding arrangement could
fund the private residents’ improvement and public realm improvement. So, we also have preparedlike a PPP schemes to pull all together, especiallygovernment-owned building to become one of theschemes. The YCDC has also paid attention to the
public space, but there was a mismanagement in thepast, so very, very few places left for the public openLecture 2

Fig. 33 As there are less and less land available to be used
for strengthening public utilities, services and providing
public spaces, only two areas in downtown left to takeadvantages of Central Railway Station owned 63 acres ofland at the center of the historic city.

Fig. 34 Downtown waterfront has a great potential to become a major public recreation place if port functions areto be reduced.

39

space (Fig. 32). So one opportunity is we have the63 acres of land, the central railway station, that the
government is ready to redevelop with the investors(Fig. 33). But this is one of the last opportunities
to be a public utilities use. It’s the same to the port,
because if the port is to be moved out, then the many
opportunities for the utilities and public space can begone (Fig. 34).

These are some problems that people feel that theheritage building to become a business and they haveinappropriate façade and then the technique is important. We have those who renovated (Fig. 35); we
requested the government to require a conservation
management plan. This is also used in the many significant buildings now kind of the practice. So, this iswhat we have been advising on the renovation.

Conservation of Yangonʼs Heritage as a Tool for Sustainable Development

Fig. 35 Regulations and guidelines are needed to control inappropriate renovation and upgrading,
addition, and new development in conservation areas.

Lecture 2

40

Fig. 36 Kempinski Hotel

Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Fig. 37 Advocating developer and professionals that heritage buildings’ interiors are equally important to theirs façade.

Lecture 2

Fig. 38 Demonstrated Conservation Project: 501, Merchant Road

41
Conservation of Yangonʼs Heritage as a Tool for Sustainable Development

Fig. 39 Doh Eain YGN
Growing local businesses in heritage properties. There are initiatives by other local NGOs that renovating in deal
with home owners.

Lecture 2

One interesting thing is that this one is to bea hotel – Kempinski Hotel in the next year. They
already have renovated. Before they renovated, werequested them to dig out and we found the Mon
Heritage is some centuries ago under 15 feet below(Fig. 36). So not only the façade is important, theinteriors are important too (Fig. 37).
So, Fig. 38 is the demonstration project that we
worked together with the Princess Foundation from
UK. We have this with the help of Australian government to deliver the trainings. So, not only that
initiative that the public – private initiatives also too
because of heritage becoming a little bit of more popular and then initiated from the businesses are also to
be seen. The place has become the young people tohang out, something like that (Fig. 39). So, revitalizing the site would bring the pride of the city. So, that42

is what the belief is and the opportunity is that the
management, city management has changed, and the
new government with the vision that comes alongwith us and the increasing awareness on the conservation and heritage would hopefully bring in towards
the city development, so integrating heritage into
urban policy, understanding heritage and educating
technical knowledge.
The last thing I want to say is leaving for the next
generation to make a decision is also very important.
This is Yangon, so we cannot expect a very fine renovation with the millions of dollars to be spent. I thinkthat is fine with the people, with their own
decision, the vibrant and the dynamic city as
it is and that we care about. Thank you.

Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Lecture 3

The Small City withBig Dreams:
The World Heritage Cityof Vigan and its HeritageDriven Sustainable
Development
Eric B. Zerrudo

Director, UST Graduate School - Center for Conservation ofCultural Property and Environment in the Tropics

Eva Marie S. Medina

Former Mayor, the World Heritage City of Vigan

43
The Small City with Big Dreams:
The World Heritage City of Vigan and its Heritage-Driven Sustainable Development

After graduating from De La Salle University (Philippines),
earned a Master of Cultural Heritage from Deakin University(Australia). After a career including serving as Director for
Administration of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila,
Special Assistant for Cultural Affairs in the Japan Information
and Cultural Center of the Embassy of Japan, and at thePhilippinesʼ Government Service Insurance System, served
as Consultant for International Affairs to the Philippines
governmentʼs National Commission for Culture and the Arts
and as Executive Director of the Metropolitan Museum of
Manila before assuming his current position. Also serves
as a member of the UNESCO National Commission of thePhilippines, Senior Cultural Heritage and Development
Adviser to the Department of Tourism, and Program
Consultant and Associate Professor in the Cultural Heritage
Studies Program at the University of Santo Tomas Graduate
School, among other roles. In addition to having worked
on numerous missions related to preservation of cultural
heritage together with overseas research institutions, healso has conducted cultural mapping of the cities of thePhilippines for ascertaining the state of cultural use ofindividual facilities and heritage sites.

Abstract
In the early definition of sustainable development, culture was not a priority dimension in theframework. Nonetheless, it has been recognized as
fundamental element in the United Nations (UN)
Resolution for Culture and Diversity. The UNESCOWorld Heritage Convention is considered as the
epitome of sustainable development in many world
heritage sites. In the World Heritage policy statement, sustainable development perspectives, withconsiderations to climate change, tourism, migrationand terrorism, have been integrated into the processes of the World Heritage Convention. The World
Heritage City of Vigan became cognizant of theintegrative role of heritage towards development in
its long struggle to balance heritage conservation andeconomic progress. Burdened by historical and geographical constraints, the small city introspectively
harnessed its history and heritage to transform its
image, its economy, its people and its future. It pursued the following objectives: to develop the sense of
pride, identity and place of the Biguenos to their city;
to institutionalize local protective measures and development plans to ensure continuity and encourage
maximum involvement of stakeholders; to forge local
and international network to provide opportunities
for good practice in local governance and heritage
conservation, and to develop Vigan as a tourist destination where the people’s lives are enriched and thecore values and traditions are preserved.
To reinforce these objectives, human development and risk mitigation programs were also implemented. The human development program, atool to curb poverty incidence, focused on livelihood
through manpower development and credit accessibility for medium, small and micro enterprises. The
risk reduction program embarked on infrastructuredevelopment, solid waste recycling and the continued documentation of historic houses and structures.
These herculean efforts have catapulted the city into
exemplary achievements. The tourism, education andinvestment statistics have all increased. On the other
hand, the poverty incidence, education drop outs andmalnutrition figures have all gone down. The city’s
revenue has been meteoric. The Vigan experiencehas become a model for development and has become aspiration for many Philippine cities. Vigan
has responsibly conserved its cultural heritage whichbecame the driving force to sustainable development.

Lecture 3

Fig. 1 Original Manuscript of the Royal Decree44
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Introduction
With the advocacy for sustainable development at
the turn of the millennium, the dimension of cultural
heritage has not been prioritized. Classic sustainable development definition upholds the Brundtland
Commission declaration as “development that meetsthe needs of the present without compromising theability of the future generations to meet their own
needs” (WCED, 1987). This context focuses and illustrates the triumvirate of social, economic and theenvironment dimensions. In the 2010 UN Resolution
on Culture and Diversity, culture was recognized as
the foundation for sustainable development “acknowledging that culture is a source of enrichment
and an important contributor to the local communities, peoples and nations, empowering them to play
an active and unique role in development initiatives”(Turner, 2012). And this pronouncement underscores the role of the World Heritage Convention as
the epitome for sustainability which has been exemplified in the management of World Heritage sites(Van Oers, 2015). In a policy statement, the World
Heritage Center declared the integration of sustainable development perspectives in the processes of theWorld Heritage Convention, emphasizing the global
contexts of climate change, tourism, migration andterrorism (UNESCO WHC, 2015).
The World Heritage of Vigan became cognizantof the integrative role of heritage towards development in its struggle to balance heritage conservationand economic progress. From a trading town during
the Spanish Colonial period, it went into hibernation
for decades until its World Heritage inscription in

1999. Even though short of the national standard forcityhood i.e. population and revenue, it has becomea role model for development in the country with its
conscious advocacy for sustainability and intergenerational responsibility.

History
Vigan was a thriving trading post when conquistador Don Juan de Salcedo discovered it in 1572.
When the seat of the Catholic Diocese of Nueva
Segovia was established in 1758 by virtue of a Royal
Decree (Fig. 1), her status was elevated into a city
named Ciudad Fernandina de Bigan. For more thana century, Vigan was the centre of political, religious,
economic, social and cultural activities in Northern
Philippines (Galang, 2014). When the ManilaAcapulco Galleon trade came to an end in 1825,
trade, commerce and industry declined.
Later on, Vigan was reverted into a municipality.
In the 1960s, the trading of Virginia tobacco wasestablished to spur the economy. However, the political instability and abuses of private political armies
triggered an out-migration of local businessmen andancestral homeowners. The historic district virtuallybecame a ghost town and no man’s land (Fig. 2).
Although peace and order improved in the 1980s, thelocal economy remained depressed. In 1995, Vigan
was a second class municipality with annual revenue that was hardly enough to defray the salaries
of its city employees let alone deliver the most basic
services. Poverty was at its peak with 45.8 % of her
populace living below the poverty line threshold. It
was a struggling, diminishing community adverselyLecture 3

Fig. 2 CALLE CRISOLOGO Ghost Town

45

affected by historical misfortunes beyond her control.
The town of Vigan is the capital town of Ilocos
Sur. By national standard of cityhood, it only has
a population of 45,143 (2016) out of the required
250,000 minimum number of people. By revenue, it
only generated Php 23,000,000 revenue in 1995 outof the minimum requirement of Php 500,000,000(Vigan City Government, 2017). Vigan was a small
historic town that went into oblivion for some time.
It lacked the comparative advantage in terms of natural tourism sites. It does not have beautiful whitesand beaches because its coast is gray with strong undercurrent. It does not have exotic mountain ranges

or forest lands for trekking and sports. These tourism
constraints posited challenges to the city.

The Vision
The Vigan City government introspectively discovered the treasure of limitless potentials – the richcultural heritage that was unnoticed, unused anduntapped. The local government collaborated withall stakeholders to transform Vigan, using heritage
conservation as the major tool for development. The
endeavours were anchored on four objectives of theconservation program.
1. The first objective was to fortify the sense of

The Small City with Big Dreams:
The World Heritage City of Vigan and its Heritage-Driven Sustainable Development

Fig. 3

Lecture 3

identity and pride of the Biguenos on their historic city. This was an essential ingredient thatdeveloped a high level of confidence and sense ofcommunity. The city embarked on a massive research and information dissemination on the city’s
history, traditions and culture through the city
website, facebook, fan page, brochures, video films,
newsletters, coffee table books, postal stamps andworkbooks for children (City Government ofVigan, 2009) (Fig. 3).
		 With the collaboration of all stakeholders,Vigan was inscribed in the World Heritage list
for cultural properties in 1999 (Fig. 4). It was
inscribed under criteria ii and iv. Criteria ii stated“Vigan represents a unique fusion of Asian building design and construction with European architecture and planning” and criteria iv noted “Vigan

is an exceptionally intact and well-preserved example of a European trading town in East andSoutheast Asia” (Villalon, 2005). On January 22,
2001, the colonial status of Vigan as a city was
successfully restored as promulgated pursuant toRA 8988 “An Act Converting the Municipality ofVigan into a Component City of the Province of
Ilocos Sir as the City of Vigan.”
2. The second objective was to institutionalize local
protective measures and development plans to ensure continuity of the programs and encourage
maximum involvement of stakeholders. The city
government enacted conservation ordinances suchas: defining the boundaries of the historic district
specifying the core an buffer zones (Fig. 5); providing the general conservation guidelines as well
as specifying the compatible uses of structures46
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Basis of inscription:(ii): Vigan represents a unique fusion of Asian building design andconstruction with European colonial architecture and planning, andcriterion(iv): Vigan is an exceptionally intact and well preserved example of aEuropean trading town in East and South-east Asia
Fig. 4

Fig. 5 Defining boundaries
Core and Buffer Zones of the Historic District

Fig. 6 Multi-Sectoral Conservation Council

Lecture 3

within the protected zone; an act creating a
multi-sector conservation council that served asa clearing house for building permits within thehistoric district (Fig. 6); the conservation code
was enacted to provide detailed guidelines forthe repair and restoration of historic buildings(UNESCO Bangkok, 2010).
3. The third objective was to forge local and international linkages which provided opportunities to imbibe best practices in local governanceand heritage conservation. In partnership with
the Spanish government and in close consultation with all stakeholders, the Vigan Master
Plan was formulated and implemented (Fig.

Formal turn-over of the Vigan Master
Plan for the revitalization of the HistoricDistrict of Vigan and the keys to theVigan Culture and Trade Center.

Signing of MOA for Sectoral Projects
and the establishment of the Master
Plan office for the implementation ofMaster Plan.

Fig. 7 Vigan Master-Development Plan Restoration of an Ancestral Building

Fig. 8 Vigan Ancestral Homeowners Preservation Manual

47
The Small City with Big Dreams:
The World Heritage City of Vigan and its Heritage-Driven Sustainable Development

MOA Signing for the formulation of
the Vigan Master Plan by Cooperating
Agencies7). In cooperation with UNESCO-Bangkok
and the University of Northern Philippines, thecity government published the Vigan Ancestral
Homeowners Preservation Manual (UNESCO
Bangkok, 2010) (Fig. 8). This was designed as apractical and user-friendly management tool toguide homeowners, custodians and developers
in their proper maintenance, repair and adaptive
reuse of their historic properties. In collaboration with the University of Santo Tomas-Centerfor the Conservation of Cultural Property andthe Environment in the Tropics (CCCPET),
cultural heritage mapping of tangible and intangible cultural properties was conductedLecture 3

48
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

(USTGS-CCCPET, 2006) (Fig. 9). Significant
outcomes of the mapping were the heritage rivercruise highlighting Vigan’s history in narrativeand life-size tableaus and the “Buridek” the Viganchildren’s museum, the first of its kind in Northern
Philippines (Fig. 10). The Vigan Conservation
Complex was established to secure the gains in
the preservation of the city’s heritage (Fig. 11).
Its components include a training facility for restoration and traditional industries, a three section
museum featuring simbahan or church, ciudad orcity and balay or ancestral houses; conservationmaterials depot where old parts of houses may bebought for repair, concessions, a hostel and thePresident Elpidio Quirino Memorial archives andresearch center.
		 Forthcoming is a theme park which shall be areflection of important sites and traditions of thefive provinces that comprised the Spanish colonial
province of Ylocos with Vigan as the capital. And
another is the restoration of a four-storey ancestral building in the heart of the heritage district. It
will serve as the Vigan products display and promotion center, art gallery for promising artists andthe sub-station of the Bureau of Fire Protection
and Public Safety as a disaster mitigating effort.
4. The fourth objective was to develop Vigan as a

tourist destination where tourism programs enriched and conserved the people’s core values andtraditions, as well as sustain livelihood and create
employment opportunities for Biguenos. The city
revitalized many traditional festivals and introduced new ones to showcase the rich heritage ofVigan.
The Vigan fiesta in January commemorates St.
Paul the Apostle, the city’s patron saint and celebrates the role of various sectors in society, including
a cookfest and street dancing on the theme of longganisa, a locally made and nationally famous sausage.
The Semana Santa or Holy Week is a religious observance of the passion and death of Christ; the Viva
Vigan Binatbatan festival of the arts in May; theWorld Heritage Cities solidarity cultural festival in
September (Fig. 12), a revival of different expressionof entertainment from the past; the Raniag Vigan
Twilight Festival on the last week of October, featuring evening street dancing and electric float parade
while in December the lantern and torch parade andthe Artes Ita Pascua. In total, there are six (6) colourful heritage festivities that give both the residents
and tourists a variety of experience all year round.
The city government constructed the Vigan
Convention Center which brought windfall benefits

Fig. 9 Cultural MappingLecture 3

The Small City with Big Dreams:
The World Heritage City of Vigan and its Heritage-Driven Sustainable Development

Fig. 11 The Vigan Conservation Complex

49
Fig. 10 The “Buridek” the Vigan children’s museum

Lecture 3

50

to the city (Fig. 13). A pair of mural paintings ofVigan’s history was mounted on the walls of its central hall, a painting depicting the performances along
the northern lobby, and a bar relief of letras y figuras
adorn the main lobby. The convention center has
become not only a venue for gatherings but also acultural showcase to view the heritage of Vigan. The
city produced three zarzuelas or musical plays. Theseare entitled “Ang Babae sa Digmaan” or The Womenof War, a musical on how Vigan, its historic district
and architecture were saved during WW II becauseof the two beautiful love stories between beautiful
Vigan ladies and Japanese soldiers, Adela and Fujiro
Takahashi and Belen and Narioka (Fig. 14); “Tres
Patrimonio” or Three Patrimonies, featured excerpts
from the lives of national heroes from Vigan; and“Q” the musical about the life of President Elpidio
Quirino who was born in Vigan (Fig. 15). The Vigan
cultural troupe, composed of city government employees who performed as actors in the zarzuelas,
have already developed a regular repertoire of songs
and dances.
The street food court was developed serving
Vigan’s native delicacies such as empanada, okoy,

miki, sinanglao, barbecued longganisa and many
more. The dancing fountain in the town plaza has
become a blockbuster attraction (Fig. 16).
The private sector has also joined the tourism
bandwagon. They have established destinations
such as the Baluarte Zoo, the Hidden Garden, thePagburnayan or jar factories, the native delicacies
zone and the Inabel or loom weaving village (Fig.
17). Along with these hotels, restaurants, souvenir
shops and other tourism related establishments havemushroomed to cater to the needs and demands ofvisitors (Villalon, 2012) (Fig. 18).
To reinforce private sector initiatives, the city government set up the local economic enterprises. These
were the central bus and jeepney terminal, Vigan
public market, Playa de Oro resort, Vigan culture
and trade center, the slaughterhouse, the Mira Hills
Spanish friendship park and the Villa Fernandina de
Vigan. The Villa Fernandina de Vigan was a 4,500
sq. m. property with a two- story building that served
as a satellite office in the Metropolitan Manila thatoffered accommodation facilities. It was home forpeople displaying Vigan products, transacting business and most especially to those attending to their

Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Fig. 12 Solidarity Day

Lecture 3

Fig. 13 The Vigan Convention Center
Center for Gatherings, Educational and Cultural Showcase

51
The Small City with Big Dreams:
The World Heritage City of Vigan and its Heritage-Driven Sustainable Development

Fig. 14 Performing Arts “Ang Babae sa Digmaan”

Lecture 3

sick relatives.
For the city, to deepen their trust in transparency
and to sustain good housekeeping, TVigan the city
cable network was launched as the media arm that
effectively informs, entertains and educates throughtelevision programs rooted in Vigan’s heritage culture,people, best practices and events (Fig. 19).
In 2014, Vigan celebrated its inclusion as one of
the New Seven Wonder Cities of the World, a result of the city and community’s collective resolve toclaim another distinction, it is a source of pride not
only for every Bigueno but for every Filipino. These52
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Fig. 15 “Q” The MusicalFig. 16 Dancing Fountain at Plaza Salcedo

Lecture 3

cumulative achievements developed Vigan as a tourist destination. Vigan tourist arrivals increased from373,570 in 2009 to 1,045,491 in 2016. The numberof hotels/souvenir shops and restaurants increased
from 5 in 2007 to 189 to 2016 (Fig. 20). The culturalindustry, composed of museums, libraries, heritage
houses, and education centers has been registered to
293 in 2016 (Vigan City Government, 2017).

Human development
The city government had the resolve to curb
poverty in all forms. Initiated as flagship livelihood

program was “Pagsapulan Raniag ti Masakbayan.”
The elements of these were manpower development through the Vigan Skills Training Institute(VSTI) (Fig. 21). VSTI developed three national
level Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority (TESDA) accredited courses namely finishing course for call center agents, escuela taller orcommunity based training for restorers and escuelade los mataderos or school of butchers. It offered anarray of short term livelihood training like: artistic
jewelry, fruit and vegetable carving, theatrical puppetry workshop, sandals and slipper making, massage

53

Native Delicacies Zone

Pagburnayan

Loom Weaving Village

Fig. 17

Fig. 18 Hotels, Restaurants, Souvenir Shops and Other Tourism Related Establishment

The Small City with Big Dreams:
The World Heritage City of Vigan and its Heritage-Driven Sustainable Development

Hidden Garden

Lecture 3

therapy, cosmetology and enhanced sewing and garments technology.
Second program was lending to small to medium
and micro enterprises (MSMEs), One-Town-OneProduct (OTOP) manufacturers, farmers and fisher
folks and cooperatives with the Nueva Segovia consortium of cooperatives as fund handler; and third
program was the direct livelihood assistance such as
tricycle for hire with a franchise to operate, sari saristore, native delicacies, kalesa and rice vending forthe poorest of the poor.
Poverty alleviation efforts brought down the citypoverty incidence from 45.8 % in 1995 which plagued

almost half of the population down to 3.4 % as of2016 and still descending with various multi-sectoralinterventions (Fig. 22). The education completion
rate is 98.35 % (2016) with a dropout rate of only
0.56 % (2016). The malnutrition rate was down to
2.18 % (2016). (Vigan City Government, 2017).
The once sleepy municipality transformed into abustling city that is rich in culture and history. Today,
tourism related investments keep coming and arewielding a multiplier effect in the income generating
capabilities of the Biguenos and the people of neighbouring towns. This has created brighter prospects
for the economy.

54
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Fig. 19 The City Government Cable Network

Fig. 20 Both Commercially Accomodated and Day Time Tourist in 2016

Lecture 3

From a second class municipality with an incomeof 27 million pesos (approximately 540,000 USD)
in 1995, this has reached to annual budget of 378
million pesos (7.6 million USD) in 2016 (Vigan
City Government, 2017) (Fig. 23). With the added
revenue from heritage based tourism activities andlocal economic enterprises, the city has been able
to deliver effective public services in terms of public
infrastructure, health, educational and social services,
environmental protection, public safety, disaster risk
reduction and management and many more (Fig. 24).

Risk Reduction Program
The impact of climate change to a highly vulnerable country like the Philippines was undeniable. The
city proactively embarked on various risk reduction
programs. To mitigate flooding, the city worked on
dredging rivers, building sea walls, slope protection
and canals. Having learnt from the 2008 Ondoy

tragedy in Metro Manila where tons and tons of uncollected garbage blocked and choked the exit waysof rainwater which caused massive destructive flooding, there was the urgent call to manage and address
the proper disposal of solid wastes.
The Vigan materials recovery facility manages
15,000 m3 of garbage. It processes more than 300
tons of biodegradable waste into organic fertilizers
for farmers through bioreactors (Fig. 25). Plastics
and styrofoam are recycled into styroplastic oven andturned into tables for day care centers and paving
blocks (Fig. 26). Plastic bags, candy wrappers andsachets are pulverized and used as extenders for concrete products and throw pillow fillers in livelihood
projects. Paper is reprocessed into cooking fuel briskets or used by city hall employees as secondary
paper for office documents (Fig. 27). The solid waste
management has been fully implemented in all 39
barangays who now collect garbage from households.

55
The Small City with Big Dreams:
The World Heritage City of Vigan and its Heritage-Driven Sustainable Development

Fig. 21 Manpower development Vigan skills training instituteThree Accredited Courses, Finishing Courses for Call Center Agents, Eskwela Talyer, Eskwela De Los Mataderos

Lecture 3

Subsequently, the city garbage trucks regularly collect from their designated barangay material recovery
facilities. The city government provides two tricabs
for each barangay’s solid waste management service
vehicle. Dump trucks are also provided to the barangays with the largest volume of garbage.
In the aftermath of the 2013 Bohol tragedy where
national treasures such as churches, fortifications
and other historic structures were pulverized to theground by mega earthquakes. It became evident
that documentation of significant structures such as

ancestral houses, monuments and churches foundin Vigan and many governments all over the world
was a necessary component not only in conservation
but in disaster mitigation efforts. Even with available
funds to rebuild the buildings in Bohol, if there wereno basis from where to start, then it will remain as
an exercise in futility. Thus, the city government purchased the 3 dimensional laser scanner. This generates highly accurate ad comprehensive baseline dataof the surroundings and infrastructure for architecture, civil, urban planning, disaster risk reduction andEconomic GrowthP378,967,068.00

P27,000,000.00

Pesos

56
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Fig. 22 Third component
Direct livelihood assistance for the poorest of the poor

1995
27,000,000.00

Current Budget
378,967,068.00

Fig. 23 Second Class Municipality
Added Revenues from Heritage Based Tourism Activities
and Local Economic Enterprises Able to Deliver Effective
Services

Fig. 24 Socialized housing for informal settlers

Lecture 3

management and even real property assessment. The
generated data serve as reference for interventions toaddress possible dangers to the city’s tangible heritage as well as strengthen public safety.

Conclusion
For many years, many heritage advocates, conservationists and even economists had difficulty reconciling conservation with economic advancement.
The Vigan experience however demonstrated thatheritage conservation can be pursued hand in handwith economic development of a heritage site. Vigan
continues to be a secure, vibrant center for trade

and tourism at the same time its colonial heritage
ensures that the values and traditions that madeBiguenos survive and flourish are safeguarded for
future generations.
Significantly, the city’s efforts have led to various
national and international recognition such as theHall of Fame Award for the most child friendly
Component City of the Philippines; the Cleanest,
Greenest and Safest city in the whole Ilocos Region;
national winner of the Gawad Pamana ng Lahi,
the country’s most prestigious recognition for excellence in Local Governance; the National Galing
Pook Award for heritage conservation programs; theFig. 26 Into Paving Blocks and Tables

Fig. 27 Paper into Cooking Brickets

57
The Small City with Big Dreams:
The World Heritage City of Vigan and its Heritage-Driven Sustainable Development

Fig. 25 Zero Waste Management Center
Biodegradable Wastes into Organic Fertilizers

Lecture 3

Fig. 28 UNESCO Awardee for Best Practice in World Heritage Management

58
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Fig. 29 Conservation Guidelines have to be reviewed and reformatted
Problems on traffic have to be addressed, ancestral houses are still in varied states of disrepair

Gawad Kalusugan Pangkalahataan for implementation of excellent health programs and , the most coveted and most prestigious UNESCO Best Practicein World Heritage Site Management awarded on theoccasion of the 40th Anniversary of UNESCO in2012 in Kyoto (Fig. 28).
The city is aware more needs to be done to keep

up with the changing times. But with the necessary
elements of development set in place and the reinvigorated pride of the citizens in themselves andtheir city, Vigan’s growth and development will besustained (Fig. 29). The powerful images and soundsof modern sophisticated living have established theirmarked presence. However, these cannot drown theLecture 3

Fig. 30 Vigan has opened itself to change but it has not sacrificed the bountiful wealth of its heritage

References
・ City Government of Vigan, (2009). Our Vigan, Cultural
Activity Book for Young Biguenos. Vigan: Philippines.
・ City Government of Vigan, (2009). I am a Bigueno: A
Workbook in English for Grades Four to Six Readers. Vigan:
Philippines.
・ Galang, R. (2014). Re-visioning Ilocos. In Manalo, I. (ed.)
Conscripcion: Imagining and Inscribing the Ilocano World.
Manila: National Archives of the Philippines, Provincial
Government of Ilocos Sur and Metropolitan Museum of
Manila. 31-47.
・ Turner, M. (2012). World Heritage and Sustainable
Development. In World Heritage 65, 8.
・ United Nations Educational, Scientific and Social organization (UNESCO) Bangkok (2010). Heritage Homeowners’
Preservation Manual for World Heritage City of Vigan,

Philippines, Bangkok: UNESCO Bangkok and The City
Government of Vigan.
・ United Nations Educational, Scientific and Social
Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Center (2015).
Draft Policy Document for the Integration of a Sustainable
Development Perspective into the Processes of theWorld Heritage Convention WHC-15/20.GA/INF.13.
Unpublished manuscript. WHC Paris.
・ University of Santo Tomas-Graduate School Center forConservation f Cultural Property and the Environment in
the Tropics (UST GS CCCPET) (2006). Cultural Mappingof Vigan World Heritage City Vols. 1-15.Manila: UST.
Unpublished.
・ Van Oers, R. (2015). Cultural Heritage Management
and Sustainability. In Albert, M-T. (ed.) Perceptions of
Sustainability in Heritage Studies. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter,
191.
・ Vigan City Government (VCG) (2017). Accessed 21 August
2017. http//www.vigancity.gov.ph
・ Villalon, A. (2005). Living Landscapes and Cultural
Landmarks. Manila: ArtPost Asia Pte. Ltd. 147-170.
・ Villalon, A. (2012). World Heritage benefits for the community of Vigan, Philippines. In UNESCO (2012), World
Heritage 65, 32-37.
・ WCED, (1987). Report of the World Commission on
Environment and Development: Our Common Future. New
York. United Nations.

59
The Small City with Big Dreams:
The World Heritage City of Vigan and its Heritage-Driven Sustainable Development

elegance and civility of the past. It is exactly the ability of coping with the needs of the present amidst thebounds set by centuries old legacy that make Vigana living city. It has opened itself to change but it has
not sacrificed the bountiful wealth of its heritage(Fig. 30). Vigan’s responsible conservation of
its heritage became the driving force to asustainable development.

Lecture 4

The Conflict Resolution
between Hoi An Cultural
Heritage Preservationand the Development inContemporary Society
Nguyen Su

Former Chairman, Hoi An Municipal People’s Council

60
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

After teaching in high school and then serving in the military
for six years, served in numerous roles in rural and urban
communities, including those of Deputy Secretary of the Hoi
An Municipal Party Committee and Chairman of the Hoi An
City Peopleʼs Committee (mayor) from 1994 through 2004.
Later served as Commissioner of the Quang Nam Provincial
Party Committee and Secretary of the Hoi An Municipal
Party Committee, Chairman of the Hoi An Municipal Peopleʼs
Council, and in other roles. He has worked to preserve thetownscapes of Hoi An, and during his time as Chairmanof the Hoi An City Peopleʼs Committee the cityʼs Ancient
Town was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
(During his time as Secretary of the Hoi An Municipal Party
Committee and Chairman of the Hoi An Municipal Peopleʼs
Council, he worked on choosing directions for the cityʼsoverall development in various aspects including economics,
culture, politics, and public safety, and he played a leadingrole in monitoring of related activities.) He was given the titleof the Labor Hero in the Renovation Period in 2005.

1. Value of Hoi An Ancient Town,
a Cultural Heritage Site
Today, I would like to talk about the contradictory
relationship between the development of contemporary society and the preservation of cultural heritage,focusing on the case of Hoi An, where cultural properties are protected well.
Hoi An Ancient Town is located in the central
region of Vietnam, Quang Nam Province, on thenorthern bank near the mouth of the Thu Bon River.
The registered heritage site has an area of 30 hectares
and is in a landscape conservation area (buffer areazone) of 280 hectares. The heritage site is considereda typical example of a small-scale, yet well-conserved
trading port, which was prosperous from the 15th
century to the 19th century having extensive traderelations with Southeast Asia, East Asia, and the restof the world. The decline of this commercial port city
toward the end of the 19th century largely helped it
retain its traditional urban tissue. The Ancient Town
reflects a fusion of indigenous and foreign cultures(earlier from Chinese and Japanese to later European
influences) to establish this culturally unique heritage site. In Hoi An, a bridge called the “Japanese
Covered Bridge” was constructed by the Japanesepeople between the 16th and the 17th century.
The heritage site comprises a well-conserved complex of 1,107 wooden architectural works with brickor wooden walls, including architectural structures,houses, stores, markets, ferry quays, religious works
such as pagodas and family cult houses, and a small
Japanese bridge. The architectural complex of Hoi
An Ancient Town is considered a “Living Heritage(a live relic)” because even today about 10,000 people
lead their normal lives in the town bearing a strong
attachment to every architectural structure, their traditional cultural activities, and their living style. Hoi
An Ancient Town with its prominent global values
was designated a World Cultural Heritage Site by
UNESCO on December 4, 1999.
2. Relationship between Preservation andDevelopment Based on the View from Hoi An
The world heritage site bears diverse relationships
around it. Today, I refer to the relationship between
preservation and development, which is contradictory and mutual at the same time. This relationshipis not unique to Hoi An but common to many otherworld heritage sites as well. First, the contradictory

Lecture 4

3. Solutions for the Relationship Issues
between Preservation andDevelopment of Hoi An
The municipal government established a generalorientation to (a) preserve and sustainably promote
Hoi An Cultural Heritage Site and (b) consider
preservation as the basis and foundation for local

socio-economic development.
Preservation activities need to be conducted towork closely for the benefit of the local communities. The government implemented this principle byassisting people in the restoration of their traditional
houses, facilitating all local residents to benefit fromthe cultural heritage through these activities.
In addition, the government obtained consent
from the residents before establishing any policy or
regulation by responding to their legitimate demands
and meeting the needs of their daily life.
Finally, the government made balanced investments for old and new urban spaces to maintain theirrelationship as that of equals.

Conclusion
In recent times, Hoi An Ancient Town has implemented efficient solutions for the relationshipbetween preservation and development, and it has
achieved some positive results. However, it is difficult
to resolve the relationship issues completely and optimally. In Hoi An, various issues that are yet to beresolved have emerged during its development, suchas environmental pollution due to human economic
activities; changes in the functioning of old houses
due to tourism and service activities; changes in the
traditional lifestyles of people tending toward contemporary ones; and changes in ownership from local
residents to outsiders. These issues require further
quests for satisfactory, appropriate solutions towardsustainable development, which requires collaboration with professionals and experts onpreservation of cultural heritage.

61
The Conflict Resolution between Hoi An Cultural Heritage Preservation andthe Development in Contemporary Society

relationship can be seen by focusing on the following
statements:- The need to preserve the status quo is in contradiction with people’s need for modern life
development.
- The process of preservation is in contradiction
with the process of urbanization and tourism
development.
- The preservation of the traditional lifestyle is incontradiction with the development of a modern
lifestyle.
Unless these contradictions are resolved, the valueof the cultural heritage site will reduce, and the local
economy will not develop further. Thus, the Hoi An
municipality actually responds to these contradictory
issues by undertaking to follow a mutual relationship:
First, we preserved the heritage site and developed
the local economy in turns. In 1995, the number ofhotel rooms in Hoi An was 8 to accept 1,000 visitorsa year, while in 2016, the number of rooms increased
to 8,000 to accept 2 million guests annually. The
sales of admission tickets in Hoi An were US$ 2,000
in 1995, which exponentially increased to US$ 8
million in 2016. Approximately 70 % of the ticket
sales are used as subsidy for restoration of old privatehouses. The economic climate in 1995 was not too
good, but in 2016, annual tourism and service activities made up 65-67 % of the total city budget.
Second, the preservation of the heritage site went
together with the increase in people’s income. The
smooth operation of the cultural heritage site increased people’s income. In other words, the funds
required for protection and restoration of cultural
heritage were available thanks to the economic development and to the improvement in people’s living
conditions.
Whether it is a contradictory or mutual relationship depends on the means adopted by the local
communities and authorities. It is important to understand how to minimize contradictions and promote the best mutual relationship.

Lecture 5

Sustainable Developmentof Hoi An Ancient Town
and Japan’s International
Cooperation
Hiromichi Tomoda

Director, Showa Women’s University Institute ofInternational Culture

62
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

A graduate from the University of Tokyo in March 1974
(Architectural Planning). He took a position with Showa
Womenʼs University in 1981, and in 2011 he was named
Director of the Universityʼs Institute of International Culture.
He has managed the Hoi An architectural preservation projectsince 1992, and in 1999 the project won a UNESCO AsiaPacific Heritage Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation, an
Architectural Institute of Japan Prize, and other prizes as Hoi
An Old Town was named a Cultural Heritage Site. The 2004
JICA development partnership project to preserve wooden
folk houses in Vietnam and the 2013 project to preserve thefarming village of Duong Lam also won UNESCO Asia-Pacific
Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation as wellas the Vietnam Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Prizeand other awards. He was awarded the Japan Commissioner
for Cultural Affairs Award in 2014 for lifetime contributions
to international exchange in the field of protection ofcultural heritage. In addition to cooperation in architecturalpreservation, He also has been involved in helping to improve
local economies through tourism promotion and achieving
continual support for urban development through pairing withlocal governments in Japan.

Today, I will introduce our activities from threeperspectives, with a focus on the protection of cultural heritage, conducted under the direction of theperson responsible for the buildings of the Cultural
Properties Protection Department of the Agency for
Cultural Affairs, as well as cooperation as a JICA
partner in the improvement of local economies andenvironments through tourism, and community development through exchange among residents of thecities growing over a long period with the support of
the Japan Foundation.

I. Protection of Cultural Heritage
Toward Registration as a World Heritage Site:
Townscape of Hoi An Ancient Town
Japan is home to numerous wooden structures,
including Horyuji Temple, the world’s oldest groupof buildings, and Todaiji Temple, the world’s largest
structure completed in ancient times. Japan’s conservation and restoration techniques are highly regarded throughout the world. I have heard that in the1991 Hoi An International Symposium, for which
Professor Ishizawa served as a representative, Japan
was asked to cooperate in the restoration of conserved buildings in the town, as a pressing issue.
In response to a request from the Cultural
Properties Department of the Agency for Cultural
Affairs, Showa Women’s University began cooperating in the conservation of Vietnam’s Hoi An Ancient
Town in 1992, as part of the “Cooperation Project
for the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural
Properties and Buildings in the Asia-Pacific Region.”
In March 1993, we were invited to the Executive
Office of the President, where Vice President Nguyen
Thi Binh requested us to cooperate in the conservation of the townscape of Hoi An, and we then started
a study of private houses there.
First, we organized gatherings of residents to ask
them what they wanted for conservation. In response
to many residents’ strong desire for “an end to leaking
roofs,” we carried out construction work to replaceroofs. This work involved the removal and replacement of tiles on 20 houses per year, at a cost of 50,000
yen per house. We were able to complete it in three
years at an annual cost of a million yen (Fig. 1a).
At the same time, we also engaged in technical transfer for the restoration of cultural properties
through full-scale demolition and restoration work
(Fig. 1b). We chose the first traditional house that

Lecture 5abConstruction work to replaceleaking roofscDemolition of a traditional house andRestoration of a traditional house throughconsideration of its restoration method
technical transfer with private donations
Fig. 1 What residents want is consideredaBefore and after the restoration of a traditional house (façade)b

Restored after technical advancement
Before the demolition of a traditional house(preserved as materials after the demolition)(epoxy resin is used)
Fig. 2 Cultural heritage conservation techniques that enhance the attractiveness of a community 1

could be repaired to a good appearance, avoiding
difficult ones. Its restoration work was conducted by
local carpenters under the direction of a conservationengineer dispatched from Japan for technical transfer. The repair work certainly brought a very good
appearance to the house, and our restoration work
was highly esteemed (Fig. 2a). Today, that building is
the Museum of Trade Ceramics.
On the other hand, we preserved the parts of ahouse that was demolished because it was on theverge of imminent collapse but required sophisticated techniques. Two years later, the house wasrebuilt after the parts were mended as technicaltransfer advanced (Fig. 2b). Another house in whichfour households lived an overcrowded life had a wet
area built separately in the courtyard. Under the circumstances, their living environment could not be
improved, so we asked the residents to relocate to thesuburbs before starting the restoration of the house(Fig. 3a, Fig. 4). In addition, there were many houses

63
Sustainable Development of Hoi An Ancient Town and Japanʼs International Cooperation

Tran phu 70
Renovated into the Museumof Trade Ceramics

Lecture 5ab

Before and after the restoration of a traditional house (reproduced façade)Fig. 3 Cultural heritage conservation techniques that enhance the attractiveness of a community 2
Before and after the restorationof a traditional house(courtyard)

64
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Fig. 4 Proper care is given to the inside of the houseand the family tomb as cultural heritage 1

Japanese tomb before the restoration

Japanese tomb before the restoration
Restored Japanese tomb
(survey of existing conditions)Fig. 5 Proper care is given to the inside of the house and the family tomb as cultural heritage 2

Lecture 5that had retained their traditional wooden interior,
but their exterior had been converted to brick. We
restored one of them as a case of reproduced façade(Fig. 3b).
The townscape conservation in Hoi An Ancient
Town focuses on the conservation of the interior, in
addition to the exterior. This comprehensive conservation is highly appreciated in the restoration of thisWorld Heritage Site. When you travel to Hoi An toenjoy its old townscape, please visit one of the traditional houses and look around its rooms. All of them
have been restored to their original state (Fig. 4). The
people of Hoi An have also retained a Japanese tombin good condition after a great deal of consideration(Fig. 5).
Mayor Nguyen Su put extra effort into the improvement of the townscape for community development by banning overflow and regulating eaves andlarge signboards (Fig. 6). Formulating ordinances, heexercised strict control in cases of very bad condition
but relaxed control in cases of good condition. He
also commended good cases while tightening thescrews. There was a two-story brick restaurant witha wooden balcony on the second floor, but only its
boundary wall was made of brick and plastered. To
make it traditional, wooden boards were put aroundthe entrance on the first floor, creating a good atmosphere (Fig 7a). In addition, the residents collected
the fallen and scattered wooden materials for reconstruction by carefully fabricating the pieces one by
one (Fig. 7b). The regulation was flexibly controlledaccording to the situation, and the wonderful ideas
and deeds of the residents were commended. These
endeavors resulted in the successful conservation of
the townscape of Hoi An Ancient Town, which is
now recorded as a World Heritage Site. At present,
two million people visit Hoi An annually. I wonder
how much the town earns in a year.

Study of Wooden Houses as the Basis to Expand
International Cooperation throughout Vietnam
During the cooperation with Hoi An, Director
Dang Bai Bai of the Department of Cultural Heritage,
the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said
65

Regulation on the size and color of signboards(before the ordinance shown on the left and after the ordinance shown on the right)
Fig. 6 Regulation is flexibly controlled according to the situation

Sustainable Development of Hoi An Ancient Town and Japanʼs International Cooperation

Prohibition of projected tents(before the ordinance shown on the left and after the ordinance shown on the right)

Lecture 5that “it is favorable not to focus on a local city but
to develop cooperation between the two countries
throughout Vietnam.” In response to this request, we
conducted an investigation of wooden private houses
as cultural heritage selected from provinces throughout Vietnam with grants-in-aid for scientific researchfrom the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science, and Technology. For this investigation, werequested the smallest-unit of local government ineach province to report “the oldest house, the mostgorgeous house, and the largest house,” and a university of architecture took pictures of these houses
as the primary investigation. Among them, 10% waschosen to prepare drawings as the secondary investigation. Finally, the Japanese and Vietnamese sides
consulted with each other before the field study, andseveral candidates for cultural properties were listed
for each province. These basic data functioned wellwhen we proceeded with the study of Vietnam anddeveloped international cooperation throughout thecountry. We sincerely appreciated the advice from the
Director.

66

Technological Transfer for the Conservation of
Wooden Houses as Cultural Heritage throughout Vietnam as a JICA Development Partner
In 2000, when the private house investigation
progressed to some extent, the JICA Development
Partner Project started. Our proposal was the only
one adopted from the ones proposed by universities, and another proposal was also employed in theintellectual support area. Concretely, we chose six
provinces (two provinces × three years) from all overVietnam and restored one private house designatedas an important cultural property in each province toconvey Japanese conservation techniques for culturalproperties in every part of Vietnam (Fig. 8). This
project required significant funds, but with the aid of
JICA, it was successfully completed.
As a result, we received the UNESCO Asia-Pacific
Heritage Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation
again following the Hoi An case.
Spirit of the Vietnamese: Conservation ofDuong Lam Agricultural Settlements
It is said that the fundamental spirit of theVietnamese people is equality and mutual aid, which

Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Façade wing walls changed to wood
(before the construction work shownon the right and after the work
shown on the left)ab

Step-by-step reconstruction by residents
with fallen and scattered materials returned to their original places
Fig. 7 Good cases encourage residents’ efforts

Lecture 5

exist in the primitive communist society of the agricultural village. In September 2000, Đỗ Mười, former General Secretary of the Communist Party, gavean order saying, “It is the national credo of Vietnam
to become a modern industrialized country, but wemust conserve agricultural villages as they are, andcontinue to convey the fundamental spirit of communism to the coming generations.” In responseto this order, the Ministry of Culture, Sports andTourism chose Duong Lam Village outside Hanoi
as the first agricultural settlement to be conserved.
Vice Minister Luu Tran Tieu requested Japan to cooperate in conservation activities. In March 2003, the“Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation
related to the Conservation of Agricultural Set­
tlements in Duong Lam Village” was concluded
between Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture andInformation and Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs.
Under the direction of the person responsible forthe buildings of the Cultural Properties Departmentof the Agency, Showa Women’s University, whichfunctioned as the secretariat, and the Nara National
Research Institute for Cultural Properties jointly
conducted an investigation to conserve a group ofbuildings, while proposing the areas to be conserved,
a conservation ordinance, etc.
Concretely, we investigated the composition of
settlements in Duong Lam Village while checking all
houses and preparing drawings for traditional houses.
In addition to architecture, we also performed archeological excavation, and clothing and dietary surveys,
as well as a variety of investigations for intangible
cultural properties, including historical and literature
research, jointly with Vietnam National University,
Hanoi.
In Duong Lam Village, settlements are located on
the hill surrounded and guarded heavily by bamboo
groves and ponds providing a strong defense (Fig. 9).
You can see a temple first (Fig. 10a, Approach Path
1) when approaching the village. You can then see agate, and there is an arbor called quan in front of thegate outside the settlement (Fig. 10b, Approach Path67
Bac Ninh

Nghe AnNam Dinh
Fuoc Tich

Cham Isle

Cai BeThanh Hoa

JICA
PARTNERSHIPPROGRAM

Quang Nam

Dong Nai
Tien Giang

Fig. 8 Dissemination of conservation techniques for wooden private houses

Sustainable Development of Hoi An Ancient Town and Japanʼs International Cooperation

Duonga Lam

Lecture 52). As the gate is closed at night to prevent accessto and from the settlement, the arbor functions as
a rest house until morning when the gate is opened
to allow access. In the past, they had a custom ofmoving dead bodies to the quwan at night whenpeople died in the settlement, which was regarded as
unfortunate. When you pass through the gate (Fig.
10c, Approach Path 3) to enter the village and go up
the gentle slope, you will reach a square, which faces
the meeting place (Fig. 10d). From the square, roads
extend radially. When you go down the slope andreach the end, there is a guardhouse called diem (Fig.
10e). Usually, the guardhouse is also used as a place
where young men gather at night to drink alcohol. In
Duong Lam Village, the walls and boundaries of thehouses facing the road still retain their original laterite walls, which is a feature of the landscape there.

68
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Technical Transfer to Conserve Wooden House
Cultural Properties through Volunteers with
the Aid of the Japan Foundation
Technical transfer to restore cultural properties inDuong Lam Village is introduced here. In the village,a heritage conservation and management office wasestablished to start conservation activities in July 2006
after the village was designated as a national culturalproperty. At that time, the person responsible forthe buildings of the Cultural Properties Departmentof the Agency for Cultural Affairs decided not to
aid in restoration expenses by formulating a policythat Japanese experts would be dispatched for the
restoration work, the budget for which would beborne by the Vietnamese government. Unlike theconventional cases where restoration work expenses
were provided by the Japanese government, we had
to implement technical transfer only with engineer
dispatch expenses, which required a cultural subsidy
from the Japan Foundation to organize the system.
In other words, experts had to go there as volunteers
with their travel and transportation expenses andinterpreter expenses provided. In addition, the work
schedule had to be altered in accordance with theinformation changing from moment to moment onsite. Fortunately, however, many people joined the
project as volunteers from the cultural properties restoration and design office and the local governments,
including retired persons. This is a new yet good
approach in Japan’s international cooperation for theprotection of cultural heritage.

A variety of public buildings for defense, funerals, enjoyment, large and small meetings,
as well as clan ancestor worship halls and common wells, across the town.
Fig. 9 The settlement conformation shows the life of a farming community

Lecture 5

Received the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage
Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation for
the Third Time for the Duong Lam
Village ProjectTechnical transfer for restoration in Duong Lam
Village was conducted strategically with cultural heritage restoration engineers, including Mr. Yoshihiro
Narumi from Wakayama and Mr. Akiyoshi Ejima
from Saga.
Restoration of Laterite Walls: Laterite walls were installed on the ground without foundation, and manyof them inclined over a long period of time. As forinclined walls, laterite bricks were removed and thewalls were re-laid with new ones. This is because laterite is too fragile to be reused. Accordingly, we proposed a new approach that the base of the wall would
be fixed with concrete after making the inclined wallstand upright again by fixing the wall from bothsides. This restoration method was successfully adopted (Fig. 11). This low-cost approach does not
require any new laterite bricks, and maintains theoriginal old atmosphere. Since then, all inclined walls
have been restored by this approach.
Restoration with Models Stimulating the Memoriesof the Elderly: In the past, the gate of the Mong Phu
settlement, which symbolizes the settlement, used to
be closed every night. When cars started being useddaily and its surrounding environment changed, people of the settlement stopped opening and closing
the gate. One of the gate doors had been lost and theother one had been drastically modified. Althoughmore than 50 years had passed since the gate doors
had stopped being used, their original structure could
be ascertained through the memories of the elderly
people. Therefore, we produced a model and repeatedly made corrections to it through consultations
with the elderly. With the consent of the elderly, we
finally succeeded in restoring the gate doors (Fig. 12).
On-Site Careful Work Shared among the Engineers
all over Vietnam: The existing Giang Văn Minh
Ancestral Hall is not necessarily an excellent structure compared with the traditional private house

a

69

d

c

e

Fig. 10 A variety of public buildings in a village community

Sustainable Development of Hoi An Ancient Town and Japanʼs International CooperationbLecture 5

70

A new approach was adopted to make an inclined laterite wall stand upright again
by fixing the wall from both sides.
Fig. 11 The laterite walls remain as is

Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Fig. 12 Showing a reproduction model, opinions were collected from elderly people who knew the original gate doors.
This process was repeated almost ten times until all of them consented to the model.

Lecture 5of the Mong Phu settlement. However, Giang Văn
Minh, who was born in the Mong Phu settlement,
was dispatched to Qing as a Vietnamese senior envoy
after passing the Chinese imperial examination withthe third best result. He died in China as a heroof his country, safeguarding Vietnam’s integrity. Hisancestral hall was designated as a national culturalproperty. Therefore, the Vietnam National Cultural
Properties Construction Company dispatched highly
skilled carpenters, and they restored the hall very
carefully. To make them understand that even privatehouses require careful restoration work, we askedbuilding firms and carpenters all over the country tojoin the project to convey the importance of careful
work even for this level of structure (Fig. 13).
Sophisticated Techniques Introduced after Tech­nical Transfer: The very old and seriously damaged
residence of Nguyễn Văn Hưởng required sophisticated restoration techniques, which were introduced later. Since local carpenters improved theirskills sufficiently, the residence, which was restored

A national cultural property was restored by skilled Vietnamese carpenters.
Engineers were invited from all over the country to learn careful restoration work for a private house.
Fig. 13 The Giang Văn Minh Ancestral Hall71
Sustainable Development of Hoi An Ancient Town and Japanʼs International Cooperation

with a variety of techniques, has been used as a sitewhere they can learn Japanese advanced restoration
techniques.
In a 1996 conference, a lasting impression wasmade when a staff member from the Agency for
Cultural Affairs pointed out some problems withlocal restoration work, and Mayor Su, upon hearing
this, responded by banning for two years any repair
work conducted without guidance from Japan. This
resulted in an increase in the level of conservationin Hoi An Ancient Town. In particular, carpentersstarted to strive to repair old building materials ifthey could be reused (Fig. 14).
Conservation of the Historically and Technically
Valuable Process: The residence of Ha Bamgbing,which was built in 1853, gives a Western-style impression with its brick wall installed in front of thehouse in 1924 by the grandfather, who wanted his
son to become village mayor. However, large plastered gutters were placed around the house to drainrainwater pooled in the valley between the inclined
roof and the installed wall. Under theusual restoration work, these plastered
gutters are replaced with stainless ones.
In this case, however, the social background was reflected in the architecture, and refurbishment techniques
were fully considered, so the plastered
gutters were kept as they were with afocus on its process (Fig. 15).
Skillful Techniques to Minimize Dem­olition: Our last technical transfer was
made for the residence of Giang VănLecture 5

After repeating simple restoration work for private houses,
an opportunity to learn diverse techniques was provided at important yet seriously damaged private houses.

72

Fig. 14 The residence of Nguyễn Văn Hưởng

Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

A Western-style façade was added to the inclined roof front by the grandfather, who wanted his son to
become village mayor. The current situation was preserved due to excellent leak-proofing measures.
Fig. 15 The residence of Ha Bamgbing

Lecture 5

Toán, whose value as a cultural property was veryhigh. We employed an approach to minimize its
demolition. Unlike the conventional approach where
each member is removed for repair, joined members
are repaired in a very complicated manner in this new
approach. When joined members are disassembled
for repair and assembled again, joints are damaged.

This advanced technique was also transferred tocommemorate their independence (Fig. 16).
UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award for Cultural
Heritage Conservation Received for the Third Time:
This technical transfer for the restoration of culturalproperties in Duong Lam Village is also highly esteemed by UNESCO (Fig. 17).

73

UNESCO commended the Agency for Cultural Affairs, JICA,
the Japan Foundation and restoration engineers in Japan together with
the Vietnamese people involved.
Fig. 17 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation Received for the Third Time

Sustainable Development of Hoi An Ancient Town and Japanʼs International Cooperation

Total demolition damages the building.
As the final stage, techniques were applied to partly restore the standing building by minimizing its demolition.
Fig. 16 The residence of Giang Văn Toán

Lecture 5

74
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

II. Improvements for Tourism
Conservation of Townscape along with
Improvement of Local Residents’ Lives
Both in Hoi An City and in Duong Lam Village,
the residents expected that more and more tourists
would visit and their income would increase. The
conservation activities and the development of thelocal economy were inseparable. Accordingly, alongwith these cultural heritage conservation efforts,from 1997 to 2003, we dispatched our staff to the
Hoi An heritage management office as JICA experts.
We also needed to show a path toward economic
development focusing on tourism while training architectural experts in the office. After the registration
as a World Heritage Site, cooperation shifted fromthe conservation of cultural heritage to tourism improvements, and JICA took over the lead role. On theother hand, JICA also looked for collaboration with
universities like us and volunteer organizations. The
JICA Development Partner Project progressed further as the JICA Grass-Root Technical Cooperation
Project, formulating a scheme to support the improvement of local life together with the residents.
In addition, the Vietnamese government requested
us to cooperate in the conservation of agricultural settlements in Phuoc Tich Village near Hue in central

and southern Vietnam, following the designation ofDuong Lam Village in the northern part as national cultural heritage. Fortunately, Showa Women’s
University obtained an academic research promotion subsidy from the Private Education Promotion
Foundation in April 2009. In July 2009, the Agency
for Cultural Affairs concluded the “Memorandumof Understanding on Cooperation between the
Department of Cultural Heritage of the Ministryof Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam and the Cultural Properties
Department of the Agency for Cultural Affairs ofJapan—in the Fields of Conservation, Restorationand Management of Traditional Settlements andBuildings” for the organization of a formal international cooperation system. Showa Women’s
University and the Nara National Research Institutefor Cultural Properties jointly started conservation
research in Phuoc Tich Village in the central part in2009 and in Cai Be district in the southern part in2011.
In 2011, our proposal “Tourism Promotion
Project for the Three Areas of Duong Lam Village,
Phuoc Tich Village, and Cai Be District” was adopted as JICA’s grass-root technical cooperation activity. As for Cai Be, the conservation and promotion

Fig. 18 Duong Lam Village

Lecture 5of tourism started at the same time.

Promotion of Tourism in Duong Lam andPhuoc Tich through the JICA Grass-Root
Technical Cooperation Project
The promotion of tourism in Duong Lam Village
implemented from 2011 to 2014 focused on the
preparation of colored books and maps for tourists,
the formulation of sightseeing routes, the development of tour guides, guidance for restaurants, thedevelopment of souvenirs, experience in the agricultural village, and guidance for pesticide-free production. In the end, we applied for the UNESCO
Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage
Conservation. We received the award and succeededin branding as well (Fig. 18).
As for the promotion of tourism in Phuoc Tich
Village starting in 2011, we put effort into a ceramic
renaissance of the village, known to Japanese mastersof the tea ceremony as the vase production area of
the Namban ware, the preparation of colored books
and maps for tourists, the formulation of sightseeing
routes, the development of tour guides, guidance forrestaurants, the development of souvenirs, and theutilization of traditional festivals as tourist attractions. As for the ceramic renaissance, glazes weredeveloped and put into mass production, which required much time but is now bearing fruit. This has
continued through interpersonal exchange amongresidents under the cooperative relationship (Fig. 19).
In the two villages, tourism started from zeroalong with conservation activities. The number oftourists has been gradually increasing. Now, Duong
Lam accepts 200 thousand tourists a year, while
Phuoc Tich accepts around 10 thousand a year. Bothvillages have a heritage management office to control
tourism, expecting to attract much more tourists inthe near future.

Simultaneous Progress in the Conservation of
Residences and Tourism Improvements in
Cai Be, where the Living Environment wasalso Improved
In Cai Be district in the Mekong Delta, there
were many Vietnamese traditional houses aroundthe residence (Fig. 20a) for which we received the
UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award for Cultural
Heritage Conservation for the second time. In front

75
Sustainable Development of Hoi An Ancient Town and Japanʼs International Cooperation

Fig. 19 Phuoc Tich Village

Lecture 5of that house, Western-style buildings were additionally built, but they harmonized very well (Fig. 20b).
Their value as Vietnamese wooden houses is greaterthan that of Western-style buildings from the perspective of cultural heritage.
When the house, for which the award was given,
was opened as a restaurant, 60 thousand lunches weresold annually despite its remote location. As a result,
we consulted with the residents about extended conservation covering the neighboring areas (Fig. 20c).
With the consent of the residents, we cooperated inestablishing a system dedicated to the conservationab

Quiet’s residence (the Zhang head family),a mansion in Cai Be

76

of a group of mansions in Cai Be.
In Cai Be, we simultaneously proceeded with
tourism improvements as a JICA project. We drewup plans to improve the canal and footway environments, and they were successfully realized (Fig. 21).
Street lights, small wharfs, and signs were installed byvolunteers through JICA grass-root activities, whileroads, bridges, and large wharfs were constructed by
JICA experts in tandem (Fig. 22).
As a JICA grass-root project, both sides of a longroad connecting a Western-style building with another European-style building were developed andcSot’s residence (the Hang Family),a mansion in Cai Be
Fig. 20 Cai Be 1

Forming a consensus to preserve a groupof mansions in Cai Be

Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Fig. 21 Tourism improvements in Cai Be were proposed to JICA

Lecture 5

maintained beautifully at low cost through an activity
involving the residents called “Fence Contest.” Thisis highly appreciated as the first activity involving
residents in Vietnam (Fig. 23). In addition, a cooking contest, souvenir contest, and food workshop
were also organized (Fig. 24), and finally, the Cai Be
Tourists’ Festival took place along with PR activities(Fig. 25).
Although the objectives of the JICA project in
Cai Be were tourism improvements and promotion,a questionnaire survey of the residents showed thateven many people not involved in tourism were verysatisfied with the improvement of their living environment, feeling that their surrounding environment
was clean and comfortable to live in.

III. Interpersonal Exchange among Residents
Hoi An Became a Symbol of the Interaction
between Japan and Vietnam due to the Speechof His Majesty the Emperor Akihito
When we supported Hoi An City, people got
angry, repeatedly saying a joke that “they had aJapantown but no Japanese came.” Therefore, in
2000, we organized an exhibition in Tokyo to gain

publicity in Japan, commemorating the registration
as a World Heritage Site. The Vietnamese Embassy
to Japan offered us unstinting support by dispatching
20 students from the Hanoi Institute of Music, alarge delegation composed of 60 persons involved incommerce and industry, and many students studying
in Japan.
In 2003, on the other hand, the Japanese Embassy
to Vietnam requested us to hold the first Hoi An
International Festival with Mr. Sue, as an event tocommemorate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Japan and
Vietnam. A variety of groups associated with tea ceremony (Urasenke school), flower arrangement, andBon festival dance, including the federation for conservation of townscapes, participated in the festival
in different ways, while the Director of the Cultural
Properties Department of the Agency for Cultural
Affairs took the initiative in cooperation. This festival changed its name in its second year to “Hoi An
Japan Festival,” and has been held annually sincethen mainly by the Japanese Embassy, JICA, and theJapan Foundation. The 15th festival took place in2017 (Fig. 26).

Designed ferry quay (small)

Signboard for tourists

Road improvementsfor pedestrians and motorcycles

Landscaping by canal bank protection
improvements
Fig. 22 Cai Be 2

Traffic planning with cyclos

Sustainable Development of Hoi An Ancient Town and Japanʼs International Cooperation

Street lights were designed and installed77Lecture 5

Award ceremony for the environmental
improvement contest involving residents

Maintenance of the fence for the contest

A beautiful pedestrian road after the contest

A bridge restored by residents for the small canal contest

On-going examination of the cooking contest

On-going examination of the souvenir contest

Food workshop by Japanese staff

Displaying and selling souvenirs to tourists

Fig. 23 Cai Be 3

78
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Fig. 24 Cai Be 4

Lecture 5

Opening ceremony: Speech by the representative of
the Japanese government

A large audience of local residents at the night festival

A large audience of local residents at the night festival
A barge is used as the main stage of the night festival
Fig. 25 The First Cai Be Japan Festival (2013)

Playing the koto

Bon festival dance involving residents

Fair
Fig. 26 The First Hoi An Japan Festival (2003)

Sustainable Development of Hoi An Ancient Town and Japanʼs International Cooperation

Tea ceremony by Tanko-kai of
the Urasenke school79Lecture 5

At a banquet at the Imperial Palace in 2007, where
the President of Vietnam was invited for the firsttime—and about 140 guests attended in addition to

Iwami sacred Shinto music from the Iwami
Ginzan Silver Mine, a World Heritage Site

80

Their Majesties the Emperor Akihito and Empress
Michiko, the Crown Prince Naruhito, and the Prime
Minister, Mr. Yasuo Fukuda, and his wife—theCommemorative tenth Hoi An Japan Festival

Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

The 12th Hoi An Japan Festival in Sakai

Fig. 27 Hoi An Jana Festival held annually

The representative of the Hoi An CeramicIndustry Association visited Arita, Kyushu.

The representatives of the Karatsu and Bizen
Ceramic Industry Associations visited Hoi An.

The representatives of the Karatsu and Bizen
The representative of the Hoi An CeramicIndustry Association visited the kiln remains. Ceramic Industry Associations visited Hoi An.
Fig. 28 The Thanh Ha ware has been reproduced in modern days

Lecture 5

Mr. Ho, fisherman from Cham Island,
Hoi An, visited the Ota City fish market.

Supporting the Recovery of
Hoi An’s Traditional Industry: Kyoto Nishijin,
Imari, and Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine
In 2014, Prime Minister Abe referred to interpersonal exchange among the residents of the ASEAN
countries. As the Asia Center was established in
the Japan Foundation, we proposed a plan for thedevelopment of communities through interpersonal
exchange among residents.
In the past, Hoi An exported more than 50% of silk
consumed in Japan. The Nishijin brocade in Kyoto
flourished with this silk. Director Takao Watanabe of
the Nishijin Textile Industry Association repeatedly
visited Hoi An to cooperate in the rebirth of the Hoi
An silk industry.
As for ceramics, we requested Mr. Ohashi of the
Kyushu Ceramic Museum, an expert of the Arita
ware, to join the Imari team (Fig. 28). Naturally, thistype of technical cooperation requires many years. I
have heard that recently the ware has at last started
selling well.
The Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine, which once supplied more than 50% of silver used in Europe via Hoi
An, was registered as a World Heritage Site for thatreason. At present, Superintendent of Education, Mr.

Mr. Hara from the Society of Silver Road
Commerce and Industry surveyed the fishingindustry in Hoi An.

Mr. Hara from the Society of Silver Road
Commerce and Industry surveyed the fishingindustry in Hoi An.
Fig. 29 Enhancing the competitiveness of Hoi An’s fishery

Mr. Ho, fisherman from Cham Island,
Hoi An, visited a fisherman in Ota City.

81
Sustainable Development of Hoi An Ancient Town and Japanʼs International Cooperation

Emperor Akihito gave the following speech: “I amvery delighted with the fact that cooperation is now
carried out in various fields with people of your country, who overcame the damages due to war and somany hardships over a long period, and who are
striving to create a vibrant country. … It is known
that from the 16th century to the 17th century, ourmerchants visited your port town, Hoi An, prospering as a hub in the East-West trade at that time,and formed a Japantown. These Japantowns would
disappear soon due to an isolation policy starting in
the 17th century that banned overseas traveling of
the Japanese people. However, in Hoi An, there still
remains a bridge named Japan Bridge and Japanese
tombs, which are still taken care of by people of thearea. I have heard that Japanese experts cooperated
in the conservation of the townscape in Hoi An,
authorized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, andthe restoration of traditional wooden buildings. I am
delighted with such long interaction between yourcountry and our country lasting until today in thismanner.”Since then, Hoi An has been regarded as a symbolof the interaction between Japan and Vietnam (Fig.
27).

Lecture 5

Haruo Oguni, in Oda City, where the mine is located, is leading the interaction with Hai An City.
Further interaction, particularly in the fishing industry, is expected (Fig. 29).

82
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Creation of the Japan Image: Japantown in
Hoi An, Japan Bridge, and Mt. Fuji
Shichirobei Kadoya (1610-1672), who worked
hard as a representative of Japantown in Hoi An,
was born in Matsusaka City. Recently, it was revealed
that the vertical-striped textile produced in Hoi An,
which Shichirobei sent to his home, became the origin of Japanese vertical-striped pattern used for indigo textile (Fig. 30).
In the early Edo era, light and non-perishable
clothing was distributed nationwide, which was inapplicable to the food and housing areas. The Japanesepatterns designed under the influence of Hoi An’s
striped pattern made waves across the country. As aresult, merchants in Matsusaka, such as Mitsukoshi
and Matsuzakaya, grew into national stores having
their main stores in Nihonbashi. It is said that 60% of
the merchants in Nihonbashi were from Matsusaka.
Today, Advisor Masuhisa Kobayashi, the former deputy mayor of Matsusaka City, has taken the initiativein interpersonal exchange between Hoi An Cityand Matsusaka City, as well as the Nihonbashi area.
Yesterday, Mr. Sue was invited by the people of the
Nihonbashi area for interpersonal exchange.
Further, in Fujiyoshida City, pilgrims’ lodgings
operated by low-ranking priests built in a townhousestyle like the ones in Hoi An, which was regarded
as a component of Mt. Fuji registered as a World
Heritage Site, still exist. Associate Professor Chisato
Kogo of Kurashiki Sakuyo University, who wants tostart an interpersonal exchange with the residents of
Hoi An, gives guidance on tourism there.
We sincerely hope to succeed in interpersonal exchange with the citizens of Hoi An, where there wasa Japantown, from different perspectives of Kyoto’s
Nishijin brocade, Imari ware, Iwami Ginzan Silver
Mine, Nihonbashi, and Mt. Fuji.

Interpersonal Exchange between Cai Be,
which has Western-style Buildings Ready to be
Utilized, and Yokohama, Kobe, and Nagasaki
With aid from the Asia Center of the JapanFoundation, Cai Be, which has European-stylebuildings, established the first ties with a group of
Yokohama Yamate Western-style houses. These

Worshiping at the tomb (Matsusaka) of
Shichirobei Kadoya, mayor of Hoi An

Hoi An silk thread exhibition room

Visiting the Matsusaka cotton homespun center

Hoi An silk loom exhibition room

Fig. 30 Japanese pattern originates from Hoi An!

Lecture 5

European-style houses are beautifully decorated bycitizens of Yokohama working as volunteers. These
volunteers started helping the citizens of Cai Be decorate the Western-style buildings. The citizens of Cai
Be also visit Yokohama for interaction. We feel thatthey are really influenced by the decoration of theWestern-style houses in Yokohama (Fig. 31).
In Cai Be, where the cultural heritage restoration
work will start for the national cultural properties,
restoration techniques for wooden private houses ascultural heritage are indispensable. We expect that
Saga community development NPO groups willcontinue to offer their support.
The conservation of settlements is really hard
work. In Cai Be, tourism improvements have progressed significantly, but it was finally designated as
the third national agricultural settlement in Vietnam
in September 2017. The announcement ceremony
and the tourists’ festival will be held in December
2017 (Fig. 32). For these events, we invited people involved in Western-style houses built in Kitano,
Kobe and Yamate, Nagasaki to join the activities,
in addition to the people of Yokohama. They werepleased to accept our invitation. In September 2017,

we invited people from Cai Be, and toured aroundYokohama, Kobe, and Nagasaki together. We were
surprised with their hospitality as they organized aparty with 30 or 40 guests. We felt that they werequite willing to operate their own Western-stylebuildings in their way by being stimulated by interpersonal exchange with overseas citizens.
The details of the ceremony to announce thenational cultural heritage and the Cai Be Tourists’Festival in December are being formulated by making proposals from the Japan side and receiving ones
from the Vietnam side. We are planning a symposium on the utilization of Western-style houses ineach city, a cooking class by the owner and chef ofa restaurant in Kobe, an engraving print class from
Nagasaki, and an introduction of Japanese culture
by Saga City and Showa Women’s University. For
the main venue, we are making preparations for theannouncement ceremony and a symposium to introduce Yokohama, Kobe, and Nagasaki to the people ofTien Giang Province for the promotion of interaction with Cai Be (Fig. 32).

Deputy village mayor of Cai Be requested technical
Cultural property in the Bo’s residence designed forcooperation at Saga City Hall.
restoration by an NPO in Saga
Fig. 31 Utilization of Saga NPO’s techniques for the restoration of cultural heritage

Sustainable Development of Hoi An Ancient Town and Japanʼs International Cooperation

Deputy village mayor of Cai Be visited a traditional Cultural property in the Sot’s residence designed forhouse designated as Saga’s important cultural property.
restoration by an NPO in Saga

83

Lecture 5

IV. Conclusion
Challenges Left Undone in Vietnam:
Spatial Order Left in Original Humble Villages to
be Conserved
Looking back at our activities in the past, we
wonder if the criteria of “the old, the most gorgeous,and the largest houses” were good or not. In the end,
the houses we conserved were high-class symmetricmansions influenced by Chinese architecture, such as
the ones in Hoi An, an intermediate port in world
trade, Duong Lam Village outside Hanoi, where thehero of independence was born, a group of bureaucratic mansions in Phuoc Tich Village near Hue, andhuge estate owners’ houses in Cai Be district in the
Mekong Delta. Contrary to these buildings, the traditional private houses in Nghe An Province, locatedbetween the old and the relocated capitals of Hanoi
and Hue, and in Binh Dinh Province, located between the traveling hubs of Hue and Ho Chi Minh,were not affected by the Vietnamese dynastic culture
influenced by the Chinese symmetric architecture.
The left side of the house, when seen from the outside entrance, was used formally by calling the rooms
84“the first or the second space from the left.” This supposedly shows that Vietnamese people once had an
asymmetric aesthetic of their own.
Fortunately, our proposed JICA Grass-Root
Technical Cooperation Project with a focus on the
promotion of tourism in Nghe An Province was adopted. The conservation of agricultural settlements in
Khánh Sơn Village as a tourism resource is includedin the project. The Ministry of Culture, Sports andTourism asked us to consider Khánh Sơn to be designated not as national cultural heritage but as provincial cultural heritage as the first model in settlement
conservation under the lax ordinance, which would
be easily deployed throughout the country. Moreover,during the traditional house survey in Khánh Sơn
Village, many people used rooms by calling them“the first or the second space from the left.” As aresult, we are putting much effort into conveying theVietnamese original sense of beauty, “asymmetry,” tothe coming generations.

Consideration of Rough Contents of the Cai Be Festival

Japanese cuisine
in Kobe Gensai

M Lilyin Yamate, Yokohama

Bahop Canal Night Festival

Tokyo Chisatosha

Interior decoration

Vietnamese bonsai
contestEngraving print class forstreets of Western-stylehousingVietnamJapan

Vietnamese folklore musicals
Dynasty musical

Farmer musical

Dan Bau

NagasakiFrench cuisine
in Kobe anonymeDinnerNagasaki
Mr. Hiroshi Shobu

Introduction of techniques
to conserve culturalproperties

Badoc StageSaga

Fruit decoration
contestCooking class 2 From Japan

Vietnamese cooking
contestCooking class 1 Vietnamese cuisineKobe
Ms. Takako AsakiCai Be Introduction of culture

Introduction of streets of Western-style housing in Japan

Water Access to the Cai Be Festival Sites

Bamboo pipes

Drum

Japanese court music &kimono show

Calligraphy, Noh,
Japanese archery

Bahop canal events

Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Yokohama
Mr. Naoyuki KuniyoshiVietnam-Japan cultural entertainment

Both sides of the roadlighted with lanterns

Water sports eventat the canal

Saturday, December 2
All day long

Night festival

Have visitors appreciate the attractions of Kai Be
Have visitors appreciate the attractions of Kai Be
Fig. 32 Interpersonal exchange for community development with Yokohama/Kobe/Nagasaki

Lecture 5

Toward the Future of the Japan Consortium forInternational Cooperation in Cultural Heritage
The Japan Consortium for International
Cooperation in Cultural Heritage is an organization
composed of researchers of the Cultural Properties
Department of the Agency for Cultural Affairs who
accumulate data on the protection of cultural heritage, engineers, financial support organizations, JICA
contributions to the enhancement of local residents’
lives through tourism and other improvements, theJapan Foundation supporting interpersonal exchange

for community development, etc. We will willingly
consider concrete requests on the protection of cultural heritage and its related issues, such as the improvement of life in your areas, and interpersonal
exchange with citizens for community development,
received from foreigners attending this symposium.
We also expect the Japanese people attending the
symposium to willingly join the interpersonal exchange activities that will take place
in a variety of areas.

85
Sustainable Development of Hoi An Ancient Town and Japanʼs International Cooperation

Discussion

Discussion
Facilitator

Shoichi Ota

Committee member, Subcommittee for Southeast andSouth Asia of the Japan Consortium for International
Cooperation in Cultural Heritage/
Associate Professor, Kyoto Institute of Technology

Panelist

Johannes Widodo, Clement Liang,
Moe Moe Lwin, Eric B. Zerrudo,
Nguyen Su, Hiromichi Tomoda

86
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Shoichi Ota
He holds a doctorate in engineering and is a first-classregistered architect. After graduating from the Departmentof Eastern History and the Department of Architecture at
the University of Tokyo, completed the graduate course inarchitecture at that university. Served at Hanoi Construction
University, the University of Tokyoʼs Institute for Advanced
Studies on Asia and Institute of Industrial Science, and Yale
University before assuming the post in 2014 of associate
professor in the Kyoto Institute of Technologyʼs graduate
program in industrial arts. His areas of specialization arearchitectural history and Asian urban studies. In addition to
working in areas including research on colonial architecture
and urban planning in Asia and comparative study of castle
towns, he also has researched Vietnamʼs townhouses andtownscapes for many years. His published works include
Kenchiku no Hanoi (“Hanoi Architecture”) (Hakuyosha, 2006)
and others.

Ota: I am honored to serve as
the facilitator for this discussion
partly because I am a member of the Subcommittee forSoutheast and South Asia of
the JCIC-Heritage. I have been
conducting surveys of the historical cities in Southeast Asia,
mainly in Vietnam. But recently, I have been conducting surveys in Myanmar as well. Among the
speakers today there are many whom I have met
several times during my survey work. Therefore, I
thought I would be able to anticipate the themes thatthey would talk about. However, when I actually listened to their discussions, I was simply impressed by
the huge magnitude of the past efforts made by therespective speakers, as their remarks revealed theirexperiences and activities one after another like aseries of major storm surges. I know many of you
like discussions and I am not sure how well this
discussion will go within the set time frame with mypoor skills as a facilitator, but I will do my best andappreciate your cooperation and patience in advance.
I have received many question sheets from thefloor. If you find that the sheet does not have enoughspace or if you think of something in the course of
the discussion, please feel free to cut in, or I might
request an opinion from you. Your cooperation will
be appreciated.
Okay, so much for the introduction. Today, we discuss the attractive theme of “Sustainable Developmentin Historical Cities of South-East Asia.” It is alreadymore than several decades since the introductionof the word Machizukuri, or city development, wasclaimed as being a Japanese word that was difficult totranslate into English. The meaning of the Japaneseword has changed over the course of several years
and I think each country has a keyword similar inmeaning. With the lectures given so far as the basis,
I would like to ask you to offer keywords as supplements. The most frequently mentioned keyword intoday’s lectures was “sustainable.” To that end, whatshould be regarded as sustainable? And what should
we do? – These, I think, are the questions that cometo mind. In this respect, I would like Dr. Johannes
Widodo, the keynote lecturer, to tell us newly whatsustainability is and what this word means.
Widodo: Okay. Thank you. I think the concept ofsustainability is not at all new. In Japan, you haveDiscussion

next generation will be able to protect and preserve
our home for their own children later. That is realsustainability. Thank you.
Ota: As Dr. Widodo said, future-orientation andeducation are among the keywords. I think we should
discuss more about the importance of education forsustainability, but before we do that, the things that
we should help to be sustainable are, after all, people
and society, in other words, people and their culture.
This is the major key point. I would like to focus
our discussion today on heritage, which is non-material, intangible but sustainable. Now, concerning
this, a question has been asked from the floor, which
goes: What is the relation between things that are
more tangible? The issue here is the preservation of
townscapes. I think we should firstly discuss how
the tangible cultural heritage has been preserved. I
believe a lot of efforts must have been made for thephysical preservation of townscapes. But it has been
discovered that there are things that cannot be saved
just by preserving physical objects. This made people become aware of the concept of comprehensive
machizukuri as something more serious. I want topoint this out. I am afraid we do not have time today
to discuss that in depth, but firstly I would like tofocus our discussion on tangible cultural heritage.
Concerning this point, when I look back at yourlectures, I find the contents quite diverse, among
which, what the relationship between people andthe community and society should be like covers awide range of issues beyond my imagination. So, Mr.
Eric Zerrudo, I have the impression that you are verymuch aware of the comprehensive relationship withsociety. You are concerned not just about the preservation of old houses and traditional culture together
with the citizens, but rather about how to ensure thestability of people’s lives, such as anti-poverty measures and residential measures. Mr. Zerrudo, is there
anything you want to specifically emphasize or add

87
Discussion

Satoyama or literally village mountain. You know
very well how important it is to preserve the relationship between humans and nature and how much
we harm nature and cause problems when we build
something in nature. Therefore, we need to heal thewounds we have created through human activities. It
is obvious that this concept is very well embedded inmany religions. It’s not just Buddhism and Hinduism.
Islam, Christianity and Judaism also talk about thisrelationship between man, nature and the so-calledsuper naturals. The problems started to appear whenmodernism began, industrialization started, money
became the main focus of human life and we started
to consume more than we produce under consumerism. Then, the balance started to collapse. The result
is so-called global warming and so on. The loss of
ethics and that of empathy towards each other andtowards nature has started.
I think if we come back to the very basic understanding of sustainability, we have to return to thisvery basic understanding of why we are here on thisearth and whether it is still necessary to sustain thelife of the next generation. If our current generation
thinks that it’s not important to think about future
generations and it is Okay to enjoy everything foritself only, then that is suicide. It will lead to self-destruction. But if we care about the next generation,then we will think more about future generations.
I used the word “family” at the end of my lecture;
this is to show how we think about our own families.
Are we thinking about the future of our children? If
yes, then we have to sacrifice our daily consumption
today. “To sacrifice” means empathy. It means that
we care about how the next generation will be able
to survive. We have to pay attention, for example, tothe future steps in any policy and program in relation
to the issues of preservation, development, sustainability and so on that affect the next generation. We
have to put more resources into our young people inprimary school, secondary school and university. We
need to invest more in education. It is not so muchpreservation of the past, but rather that of life forthe future. I think that is my understanding about
what sustainability is all about. It’s about life; it’s
about livability; it is about human-oriented developments; and it’s about how to protect and preserve
our home. It’s not protecting and preserving otherpeople’s homes, but how our home can be inheritedby the next generation with less damage, and theDiscussion

88
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

concerning this point?
Zerrudo: Hello. Okay, thank you very much for thatquestion. First and foremost, for Vigan, I think it’svery important that we make it clear how they view
heritage, even though the declaration is really on thebuilt heritage or cultural site. Heritage for them isvery holistic. Particularly, heritage has really a time
continuum meaning; you talk of memory in thepast, you talk of identity in the present, and you talkof continuity in the future. The transmission frommemory to identity to continuity is – that is theirconcept of sustainability.
When you talk of sustainability, it’s not just thedimensions or social-economic environment, partnership and politics; sustainability is more of a value.
It’s the attitude of people to Vigan. It’s actually anintergenerational responsibility, meaning you have totake care from your past to make sure it remains
in the present and eventually it carries on into the
future. This type of responsibility is not something
imposed on the people. It has to be adopted by thepeople.
Because of this, we look at the concept of community. In Vigan, there’s the direct community ofresidents, there’s the transient community of tourism,
and there’s even the virtual community because of
the very rapid development of technology. There arepressure groups even having a voice with regards totheir heritage of Vigan, though they are not from
Vigan. Thus, there are concerns that the community
is becoming very fluid. But the primacy is really for
Vigan to improve, alleviate and uplift the qualityof life of the residents of Vigan. The indicator forthe community when you talk of sustainability for
Vigan is really human development. So, you perform
development in terms of education and health, how
they are resilient in terms of climate change, and ofcourse, how they continue their traditions and practices, at the same time earning from all of this how
to improve their quality of life. Thank you very much.
Ota: Now, we have a new topic of discussion: How toestablish a relationship between the virtual community and tourism. We have received some questions
about tourism. We will discuss tourism and education later.
Ms. Moe Moe Lwin mentioned downtown Yangon
in her lecture. I have visited the downtown area manytimes, sometimes conducting surveys of the citizens.
I have found that a close local community has been

formed there, and as a result, the lively atmosphereof the city of Yangon, including the buildings, is wellpreserved. Will you please tell us, Ms. Lwin, in the
future in the Yangon development plan, what typeof threats are anticipated concerning the downtown
residents and what measures are to be taken in thecommunity development in Yangon against the anticipated threats?
Lwin: Because of the drastic pace of development,
we have experienced in only a few years a sky-highincrease in property and commodity prices, and rapidchanges. Under such circumstances, we started our
advocacy to protect and preserve heritage. To date,
we and other NGOs have been leading the initiative
to encourage people to pay more attention to urban
preservation and be aware how this cultural heritage
environment is a valuable asset. People have learned
and responded through media and social networks,
and deepened their appreciation.
It's not realistic, however, to assume that all thecommunity wants to live in the same place, in thesame building and in the same condition. There must
be a lot of private interests driven by the surge ofproperty and commodity prices that happen in thedevelopment process. What we are doing at thisstage is approaching and working with the government and responsible authorities to have a sounderpolicy framework in place in city planning and management procedure.
Although not all of them, many people harbor
sentiments in the past and towards these built heritage assets. I emphasize the protection and preservation of built heritage more, because they have longer
lives than humans and survive a number of generations. People have their life experiences and memories associated with this heritage environment. Many
have appreciated it, but some have a type of prejudice.
These were built during the colonial period. They
provide evidence that Burma once was colonized. To
fight against the prejudice, we have been slowly advocating that we are not maintaining the British colonial legacy, but that this built heritage environmentis associated with the struggles of our people for thecountry in the past as well as our issues, people andsociety. The awareness that all of the members ofsociety are central players will spread across society
if we keep advocating slowly and not bow down tothe pressure for development. It will create a sense of
belonging to the community for the people and they

Discussion

you come from a country and then you apply yourbehavior of that country in my country, it shouldn’t
be acceptable. One example is Bhutan. They impose
a very high tax on tourists and therefore seek better
tourists. The tourists that are willing to spend more
are those who are also able to appreciate things more
and be respectful.
Then, the fourth one, of course, is commitment,that is, the commitment of everyone to consider theirown city as a common city, like the city of Vigan, forexample. The relationship among the mayor, people
and community is very close, because this is a small
town. A town like Songkhla, for example, which isalso a very small town, is very different from a big
city. Even Yangon has become very, very difficult.
Penang is already a very big city. But a smaller town
has better hope, because everyone knows each other.
This common understanding about our own homeregarding how to treat visitors, how to create pride in
our own heritage, and how to gain trust among thefamily members can be easily achieved. I think thechallenge is how we deal with a bigger city becauseof the higher complexity. But, maybe, in a bigger city
like Tokyo, there are still many pockets of different
groups, for example, in the neighborhood. When I
walk from here to Nishi Nippori, then to Nippori,and pass through a very small alley in the smallneighborhood opposite the Tokyo Daigaku andHongo, for example, I find a community across theroad. There are many, many pockets actually even in acity like Tokyo that are still functioning as small villages. If we look at the cities, even a city like Penang,
there are pockets that will be the starting point ofbuilding many narratives. But we have to be open. It
is not that just a single narrative is necessary. There
are many narratives, and because there are many narratives, you have a bigger pool of identities and toaccept the bigger pool of identities and diversity is
the key to trust, respect, commitment and pride.
Ota: Dr. Widodo suggested that although Tokyo isa big city, we can find clues to a common sustainability. Moreover, it was impressive that the trust in
the narrator was emphasized, probably because Dr.
Widodo is based in Singapore. He mentioned thegovernment, but it is not always necessary that thenarrator is the government. It is of course all right for
the narrator to be among the community members.
Maybe the experts could provide some help in thisregard. I also felt that it might serve as a clue for

89
Discussion

will not feel displaced.
Ota: The discussion has made me aware of the importance of memories and shared history in the firstplace. In this context, as Dr. Widodo suggested in
his keynote lecture, there is an idea of regarding thecity for which each speaker is working as a home ora family. This kind of attitude requires a history, or astory shared by the local people. Dr. Widodo, will you
please discuss the topic further and add whatever you
want to emphasize? Also, I would like to hear what
others have to say.
Widodo: Yeah, there are actually many examples that show
how difficult it is to have thiscommon narrative. You cannot ask everyone to agree to
one story. If the story comesfrom the government, there
may be some people, especiallythe young generation, who say,“Well, we don’t believe you.” I think one key point
is, the number one key point is, trust. To be able tobe trusted, the government has to be open, transparent and accountable. If the people trust the government, then whatever government policy or whateverfrom the top will be accepted more easily by thepeople. That depends on the relationship with thegovernment.
Then, in terms of the relationship with its own
people, there must be a sense of pride. Let’s take theexample of the people of Kyoto. They don’t reallyneed people from outside. They don’t even need thegovernment. They can run everything by themselves.
They have a lot of pride. They don’t even need therecognition from UNESCO. This sense of identity isvery important.
In Penang, you are very proud of your food andthink that your food is better than Singaporean food.
Your laksa is better than Singaporean laksa, for example. That kind of sense of pride from the population helps encourage everyone to buy the story.
Then, the third key point is, of course, respect.
Respect is important because we are dealing with
tourists. If we ask the tourists to come to our homeand let them do anything they want in our livingroom, in our bedroom or in our kitchen, then we
destroy our own home. We have to tell the tourists
to behave. There should be some kind of limit. You
cannot just do whatever you like. For example, if

Discussion

90
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

outside people to offer their opinions.
Well then, what about the activities conductedin Penang regarding common narrative andsustainability?
Liang: Talking about the tasteof Penang food, it is cosmopolitan, developed along withthe harbor city history. People
in Penang came from many
countries. We counted about 15
different ethnic groups. Then,
to add to the complexity, we
don’t assimilate fully. Each group retains its own culture, language, and religion. For example, if you walkaround George Town, this area is China Town, butacross the street is Muslim town and the opposite
side is Little India, and we also have a Christian area,
things like that. Assimilation happened very slowly.
And nowadays, the process of assimilation has almost
stopped.
We don’t have a common history background.
Each ethnic group has its own perspective and story.
What we want to stress is that we are not looking
for one story, but rather we are looking for multiple
stories from different perspectives. This is why we callfor different views, because we do not like to force theviews on the others.
Especially in Malaysia, there is always an official
version of the story written in the history textbooks.
But nowadays with the development of multimedia,
we have started to hear stories from other sides. I
think it’s important that we don’t want the city tohave only the narrative that is forced upon others.
It should be on consensus, as every community has
its place in the city. A good example is, as Professor
Widodo mentioned, the fact that we have pockets
in the urban settlements. One of these is the water
villages, or the Clan Jetties. They are unique because
every water village has its own unique community.
They share the same family name and they have been
living there for a few generations. They have theirstory, which we deem very important. This is part ofthe story of the city, and we held many symposiums
on the history of the city and discussed them openly
and shared with people. Also, my area of researchis the minorities and includes the Japanese history
in Penang in the 19th century where – in the heartof George Town, we used to have a Japanese town
called Nihon-yokocho. The road name is maintainedin Kanji as Nihon-gai even today. This is the story
about the Japanese ethnic community that is no longer there. But why were they there in the first place?
This is something we have to research into and sharewith others to unveil the true story. There is a lot of
mixing up of stories; some say these Japanese were
the people who came during the Second World War.
But this is not true. They were the 19th century immigrants who came here, looking for a better life.
This is where we have to correct the past mistakes
and share a more objective view of the history andits narratives.
Ota: What about Vigan, and Yangon?
Lwin: While we are talking
about the heritage, the past
heritage, especially for the built
environment, there are a lotof buildings in colonial style,wooden houses and traditionalreligious structures. They havebeen there for more than 100
years. There have been people
born during this time that have memories associatedwith these buildings. And there are those like us
middle-aged people who have enjoyed a lot of theseplaces and environment in their young lives as a native and as a student or as a staff member. We have a
lot to talk about or to remember when discussing thegood old days with the heritage environment.
But I am also wondering about those newcomers
and younger generation. They have arrived very lateto Yangon, and they are living mostly in the suburban area, maybe in a not very high quality apartment
or crumbling structures. But you see, they also havetheir own experiences and memories to treasure forever. They also have their own stories to talk about,or to remember. Sometimes, like us, there are people
who are very proud of, for example, our college, ouruniversity as a very prestigious and very high-quality
entity. In the past decades, because of, as you know,
the government rules and systems, the educationlevel had been quite degraded and lacking in quality.
Sometimes, however, I can see through the social network service that young people are also very proud ofthemselves and their own environment. So, the placesof importance in their lives will soon become theirheritage narratives to talk about, to preserve and tohand over to the next younger generation.
Ota: It was very impressive in the lecture by Ms.

Discussion

are required to set up their own Facebook, Twitterand Instagram accounts. They have to express all
their feelings and their impressions about their city.
It’s here that we are able to monitor what their views
and what their impressions are, which will also let
policymakers know what the needs of the youth are.
It’s maybe a change of platform; it’s also a change interms of accessibility, but definitely, it creates such a
big impact with regards to how we shall navigate into
the future. Thank you.
Widodo: Okay. It’s a really interesting discussion
about the change of generation. Sometimes, we forget that actually history is moving forward. What weare doing today will become history tomorrow. If you
are talking about cultural heritage, I think the postwar modern cultural heritage is equally important,maybe more important than colonial heritage andclassical heritage.
There are buildings like housing estates, hospitals,
schools, marketplaces and community centers that
now are not recognized as cultural heritage. And so,a lot of demolition is carried out even in Japan. How
many city halls have been demolished for modernization? Maybe, one of the few remaining examples
is the Olympic Stadium designed by Kenzo Tange.
Such heritage sites are for our children and theirgeneration. Well, we demolish everything because weare in power now. We forget that actually we need tokeep those schools, hospitals, markets or whatever,even public housing. We even think that they are not
worth preserving, and we do not need them because
they were built in the colonial era. They are very
meaningful to people but we erase them.
I think the discussion also needs to be moving forward. We don’t need to go back to the Hashima issue
or even the Seoul Gyeongbokgung issue. But wereally ought to talk about future heritage, about how
the socialist Vietnam heritage in Ho Chi Minh Cityor in Hanoi is shaping the new generation and how
we preserve it and hand it down to the next generation. Not many studies have been done on this issue.
I think we need to push ourselves to cross the threshold. Okay, colonial heritage is fine, classical heritage
like Shwedagon Pagoda is fine. Yes, of course, weneed to keep Shwedagon. But Buddhist monasteries,
temples, mosques or churches are not the be-all-andend-all of a colonial town. We have to think about
these post-war, post-independence entities that havealready become cultural heritage.

91
Discussion

Lwin that there is a clear difference between before
and after 1988. I think there are several people here
in the venue who were born in the 1980s and after.
There is a gap between the two generations. And
moreover, as has just been mentioned, there are an
increasing number of residents who came thereafter.
Then, what is it that we should pass down? You havethe history of more than 100 years ago, but cities
drastically change in a short time frame of 10 to 20
years. In such circumstances, how can we address
sustainability, how can we pass down the memories?
Speaking of storytellers, we should not just listen to
the stories old people tell us. I have come to thinkthat there is a difference between those who know
and those who do not know about things before
1988. What do you think? Do you think there is adifference?
Lwin: There is not much difference in appreciating or
learning about the past. They have things very muchin common, including intangible cultural things. For
example, one of the great intangible things is viewing
Shwedagon Pagoda because this is not just only for
the Buddhists or people in Yangon; It is also for the
rest of the people in the country. This is an object ofappreciation, the great architecture set in the city ina great position that people, even short-term visitors,
will enjoy. Such viewing of Shwedagon Pagoda is also
something that we have to value, maintain and passonto the next generation. I think that some of thevalues are not different, but, of course, the older generations have more memories to talk about in relation
to the past of the cities.
Zerrudo: Well, for Vigan, with regards to the narratives, before the major rupture prior to the World
Heritage Declaration, there was really government-authorized dictated narratives because of thepresence of very strong political families with strong
land holdings that were pervasive during the time inthat region.
After the change, when things became better forthe small city, many of these narratives were positioned or enshrined in official interpretation
platforms like museums. Vigan has around nine museums; a very small city with nine museums, with somany different layers of stories. But later we realizedthat the youth, especially those we call the millennials, also have their own impression of their city.
For the past 2 years, we’ve been putting together aheritage project with social media. All the participants

Discussion

92
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

Su: I think it is necessary for thepromotion of sustainable development to first and foremost
think about people. It is people
that create cultural assets. It ispeople that protect and preservethem. It is, however, also people that destroy cultural assets.
Now, Hoi An is in textbooks for the promotion of
the value of Hoi An, Vietnam, as a cultural asset.
Another thing that is important, I think, is to protect not only past values but future values and create
a new sense of values. It is very important to respect
the values unique to the area, I mean, to respect identity, but the sense of value of diversity is also important. Taking the example of Hoi An, merchants cameto Hoi An from a considerable number of countries
between the 16th and 17th centuries and establisheda truly diversified culture. We are representing thegovernment of the city of Hoi An and when wedevelop a new rule, we consult with citizens before
anything else. We promulgate it as a law only after
we obtain agreement and approval from the citizens.
To summarize my remarks, I would like to specifically mention two points. One is the importanceof consultation between citizens and policymakers.
The other point is the fact that not only Vietnamese
people but also people from various other countries,
including Japan and China, live in Hoi An. Although
the cultural background is diverse, they seem to beaccustomed to the local culture, which has given Hoi
An a very unique and diverse culture.
Ota: Thank you. Well, it was careless of me not to
notice the passing of time. I am afraid the remaining
five minutes is not enough to wrap up the discussion,
but Mr. Sue has just proposed important keywords.
One of them is the relationship between the citizens
and the government.
Here, I would like to talk about tourism as well.
Tourists are, as it were, short-term visitors. And thecity you are discussing this time is a city of immigrants. We may say that your city is a city of longterm visitors. Just like the things that are happening
in the city of Hoi An, tourists are moving in andstaying. A wide variety of aspects will be developed
there. I would like you to discuss what comes beyond
tourism, that is, the relationship between the longtime and short-time stayers.
Lwin: Yes, we have an increasing number of local

immigrants, because Yangon is the center of vital
activities in the country. We are actually struggling
with ever-increasing migrants from the countryside.
The government has to deal with that issue. It’s agreat deal of trouble. There is a never-ending streamof squatters and illegal settlements. How can they beresettled with housing that is good enough for people
to live in?
For the tourists, Yangon still is minor, I mean,
compared to the cities in neighboring countries. Asa heritage advocacy group, we are convincing thegovernment to develop a tourism prospectus. If thecultural heritage in Yangon and its vicinity is wellpreserved, Yangon will become a unique place tovisit, and then the prospect of increasing tourism tohelp the city revenue will be stronger. We are trying
to convince the government to include the aspect of
cultural heritage in the development policy.
Tourism is not a threatening factor for Yangon
yet. We are not a world heritage site like Penang or
Lijiang. I would say, a balanced kind of gentrification
would help increase the revenue for renovating these
heritage properties. People somehow feel unsafe living in those 100-year old buildings. But demolition
will not be necessary if the maintenance work is done.
We tell citizens that heritage buildings are still safe,
repairable and better than recently-built buildings.
Zerrudo: For Vigan, we consider tourism as a good problem. It’s a problem because of
the sudden influx, the meteoric
rise of the number of visitors.
We surveyed many of its residents and they have been complaining that they couldn’t sleep
anymore because they close theshops late at night and they have to wake up very
early. All the tourists are already on the streets andall the noises are resonating along the old streets ofVigan. Sometimes the shops are overcrowded. They
don’t know any more if the tourists are paying or not.
There are some problems: congestion, gentrification, and loading capacity are just some of the things
we have to address. But it’s also good, because it hasforced many of the policymakers in the government
to be very creative and think about how to actually
solve the problems and accept the tourists in a very
cautious way. Then, all tourists will appreciate Viganin terms of heritage.

Discussioninternational cooperation forcity development, I will discuss
what came to my mind at thestart of the cooperation from a
few viewpoints. For example,
the preservation of Duong Lamin the suburbs of Hanoi wasstarted triggered by the speech
by Mr. Do Muoi, General Secretary of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam,that went: It is Okay for Vietnam to become a modern industrialized state, but the fundamental spiritof Vietnam is the mutual cooperation in agriculturalvillages, which is the starting point of the current
Communism and which we should not forget. To
achieve the above, I would like you to preserve thetraditional villages as they are to pass them down
to future generations. He asked us to provide cooperation, as we were successful in preserving thetownscape of Hoi An. At that time, we did not think
we would reject the request because the project was
to preserve communist heritage. Ideologies change,
reflecting the values of the era. But cultural assets
are preserved hundreds of years over generations andsurvive. Even when it happens that they are preserved for political purposes, it should be regarded asa wonderful idea. So, we wanted to provide international cooperation to eternally preserve the country’s
culture.
On the other hand, what is important in providing international cooperation is the counterpart.
Who will be the leader in the promotion of thepreservation of the city? This is a question that will
determine the success or failure of the international
cooperation. We need to be cautious in the provisionof cooperation. Actually, it was after a few years of
our activities of cooperation in Hoi An when Mr.
Nguyen Su started directly taking part in the townscape preservation as the mayor. We had sufficient
national- and provisional-level support, but we havediscovered that the most important role is that of
the mayor who directly leads the administration. I
respect Mr. Su. He has just given a presentation,
discussing very mild topics. But actually, he is not
at all an obedient person. At that time, he had justmade his political debut, and he often said, “WhenI offer my opinion, basically 90 % of people opposeit. But after 12 months, all will say, ‘It was good that
we did as you had told us to do.’” People’s values and93
Discussion

The city of Vigan is already creating another city,
outside the heritage area, where there are modern
facilities. Using traditional colors, materials, external
appearances and techniques, they are developing newsites other than the core zone. They have already integrated seven other towns, adjacent and adjunct to thecore city of Vigan. The above mentioned seven othertowns are already benefitting because of the overload of tourists. They spillover and go to the othertowns for more hotels, more souvenirs and more experiences. They have created a One Vigan Program,which is not just for Vigan, but led by Vigan for the
benefit of the whole region. It’s a good problem when
you look at it. Not only all our policymakers but also
other people are being creative so as to be able to takeon the load of more tourists eventually.
Liang: I’d like to share something on Penang and its
capital city George Town. Together with Malacca,
similarly inscribed into the UNESCO world heritage site listing, George Town has gone throughthe booms in tourism and a surge of tourists. For
example, last year we recorded 6 million tourist arrivals in Penang, and very soon the number will hit
7 million. But the town population is only 300,000.
Then we have issues with the carrying capacity, a big
problem caused by massive traffic jams, rise in shop
rents, and then, yes, gentrification is happening. We
do not have any good solution yet, but it’s somethingthat the town planners and all stakeholders have tosit down together to work out. Some people like thetourism boom because it brings good business; othersof course don’t like it at all because they have nothing
to do with tourism and they see it as a daily nuisance.
The opinions are divided. Where is the town
heading? Now, we are having more and more large
cruise ships coming to town. Every time they arrive,
they dump 3,000 tourists down for half a day, causing traffic jams. The tourists hardly buy anything,as they prefer to go back to their ship for food andaccommodation. Do we need those kinds of tourists?
Question over to you.
Ota: Well, it’s about time we wrap up this discussion,
but before we do so, as a discussion is being held inJapan on a similar flow of events, I would like to ask
Mr. Tomoda to discuss the possible involvement by
Japan and what is expected of Japan, and then, weshall conclude this session.
Tomoda: As I am the only one among the members of this discussion working for the provision of

Discussion

94
Sustainable Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia

the tone of the comments of the media always keepchanging. But I think Mr. Su has had a strong belief
that if the preservation of townscapes is successful
for placement on the World Heritage List, people’s
lives will be richer by accepting tourism in an appropriate manner. Thus, although many citizens were
temporarily against the project, Mr. Su issued various
ordinances to promote preservation, which has led tothe current prosperity of Hoi An.
Now, I have been lucky to have gained certain
favorable reviews on the activities in Hoi An andreceived requests for cooperation from various communities, from among which I have selected forinternational cooperation the cases of the communities where I was sure that townscape preservationand tourism-based town development would succeed. And based on my experience in Hoi An andin addition to cooperation in preservation, I took
advantage of JICA’s project for the improvementof livelihood and support of community residents,
Japan Foundation’s Town Development throughCitizen Exchange, and local municipalities’ own international exchange schemes to successfully help
preserve townscapes and develop tourism in someof the districts. The above consortium is participatedby many organizations that provide support not
only to preservation but also economic development
and international exchange. Thus, a system that willlead to successful international cooperation throughcollaboration has been established. The consortium
will consider your request for international cooperation, if you make the request after building a goodframework.
Ota: Thank you, Mr. Tomoda. Although we have gone
past the session’s end time, if you have something you
must say about what you expect from Japan, please go
ahead and tell us concisely.
Widodo: A very short one. As a person fromSoutheast Asia, when I am asked how Japan can
provide support, I remember the “Oshin diplomacy”
in the 1980s. The story about how this boy and somegirls from Yamagata were able to survive became very

popular. Within a year of the movie being shown inSoutheast Asian countries, anti-Japanese movement,
everything against Japanese stopped and we started
to see Japan from very different perspectives. I thinkthat the cultural soft policy approach Japan pushedforward played an important role. Japan is in a very
good position and here in JICA, we are dealing withgovernment-to-government bilateral cooperation.
We have the Japan Foundation, which is the government arm performing the soft policy. So if you
work together like what happened in Vietnam, inIndonesia and even in South Asian countries, I thinkin the future, if the focus is really on the youth education, transfer of knowledge and capacity building,by showing good examples from Japan: how Japan isable to preserve their own heritage, revive themselvesfrom disasters, and being resilient in whatever, which
I call the “Oshin diplomacy”, it will inspire the other
Asian countries.
Rather than following the steps of China with
AIIB, building infrastructure, creating a lot of problems, and not necessarily following the ADB or
World Bank approach, which is a very, very harsh
top-down approach, we would develop more initiatives to support exchange scholarships, cooperationand capacity building. I think that is what Japan can
do now to counter the damage created by big, big
players in the regions.
Ota: Communities, education, passing down ofmemories, tourism and the role Japan is expected
to play, well, there are still many topics we need to
discuss. This is simply a break between sessions. We
will definitely keep discussing during the reception
after this discussion and after the panelists leave thestage, and there will be occasions when we will meetat a different venue. It took rather a long time to get
the discussion going and once it did get going, thetime was too short to successfully wrap it up becauseof my poor facilitation skills. Let me express
my appreciation for your kind patience andyour active participation today.

Closing
Remarks

Closing Remarks
Kunikazu Ueno

Professor, International Goodwill, Nara Women’s University/
Director, the Subcommittee for Southeast and South Asia of the Japan Consortium forInternational Cooperation in Cultural Heritage

95
Closing Remarks

I thank you for having participated in today’s symposium. I am very happy to see
so many of you here.
I guess I am one of the few that have visited all the cities reported in today’s event.
At the end of the symposium, I would like to briefly summarize today’s forum andmake it my closing statement.
This symposium corresponds to the theme, “Continue steady interaction,” raisedin the ASEAN +3 Cultural Heritage Forum held in December 2015. Accordingly,
we made the symposium a site of interaction under the theme of “Sustainable
Development of Historical Cities in South-East Asia.”
The keynote lecture and the reports from four cities touched upon the protection of cultural heritage in historic cities and development of the cities unfolding inSoutheast Asian countries in detail. We have found out every country with ongoing
rapid changes is now facing a common challenge to harmonize activities to protect
cultural heritage with related businesses. Regarding the experience in activities toharmonize the protection of cultural heritage with the development of cities, wepointed out that, in spite of some small differences among cities, participation of citizens and collaboration with them are important elements. Of course, no projects canadvance forward without the efforts made by the administrative bodies and experts.
We have also raised some future challenges to tackle. Expected hereafter is further
promotion of exchange of ideas and interactions among administrative bodies, citizens, and experts in all countries.
Dr. Tomoda reported his experience about the joint activities in Vietnam conducted by Japan. I would like to continue promoting some collaborative activities forJapan to organize multiple interactions related to the protection of cultural heritage
in Southeast Asia. Although it is difficult to imagine that our experience in Japan
will be directly adopted to other countries without any modification, I hope that ourexperience will be of some use to them.
I thank you again for sharing so many hours of your time with us today. I would
now like to announce the closing of the symposium.

International Symposium

Sustainable Development ofHistorical Cities in South-East Asia
Organizer: The Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan, the Japan Foundation Asia Center, andJapan Consortium for International Cooperation in cultural Heritage ( JCIC-Heritage)
Date: 7th of October, 2017 (Sat.) 13:00-17:30
Venue: Heiseikan-Auditorium, Tokyo National Museum
In association with:
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural
Properties, Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, the Japan International
Cooperation Agency ( JICA), the Sumitomo Foundation, the Mitsubishi Foundation, the Toyota
Foundation, the Foundation for Cultural Heritage and Art Research, the Cultural Heritage
Protection Cooperation Office, Asia/Pacific Cultural Center for UNESCO (ACCU Nara), theNational Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan, the National Museum of Ethnology,
Japan, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, Japanese National Committee(ICOMOS Japan),( Japan Broadcasting Corporation), the Asahi Shimbun Company, theSankei Shimbun Co., Ltd., the Tokyo Shimbun, Nikkei Inc., The Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd.,the Yomiuri Shimbun Co.
Number of audience: 177

Program
13:00-13:05 Opening remarks
Yoshiaki Ishizawa(Chairperson, JCIC-Heritage/Director, Sophia Asia Center for Research and Human Development)

13:05-13:50 Keynote Lecture “Conservation is about People: Preserving the Historic Urban
Landscape and Sustaining Developments in Asian Cities”
Johannes Widodo(Associate Professor, National University of Singapore)

13:50-14:20 Lecture 1 “Sustaining the Living Heritage in George Town,
Challenges of a World Heritage Site”
Clement Liang(Council Member, Penang Heritage Trust)

14:20-14:50 Lecture 2 “Conservation of Yangon’s Heritage as a Tool for
Sustainable Development”
Moe Moe Lwin
(Director/Vice Chairman, Yangon Heritage Trust)

14:50-15:05 Lecture 3 “The Small City with Big Dreams: The World Heritage City of Vigan andits Heritage-Driven Sustainable Development”
Eric B. Zerrudo(Director, UST Graduate School - Center for Conservation of Cultural Property andEnvironment in the Tropics)

15:05-15:35 Lecture 4 “The Conflict Resolution between Hoi Akn Cultural Heritage Preservationand the Development in Contemporary Society ”
Nguyen Su(Former Chairman, Hoi An Municipal People’s Council)

17:20-17:30 Break: 15 minutes
15:35-16:05 Lecture 5 “Sustainable Development of the Old City of Hoi An andJapan’s International Cooperation”
Hiromichi Tomoda(Director, Showa Women’s University Institute of International Culture)

16: 05-16:35 Discussion[Facilitator] Shoichi Ota[Speakers](Committee member, Subcommittee for Southeast and South Asia of the Japan Consortium forInternational Cooperation in Cultural Heritage/Associate Professor, Kyoto Institute of Technology)

Johannes Widodo(Associate Professor, National University of Singapore)

Clement Liang(Council Member, Penang Heritage Trust)

Moe Moe Lwin

(Director/Vice Chairman, Yangon Heritage Trust)

Eric B. Zerrudo(Director, UST Graduate School - Center for Conservation of Cultural Property andEnvironment in the Tropics)

Nguyen Su(Former Chairman, Hoi An Municipal People’s Council)

Hiromichi Tomoda(Director, Showa Women’s University Institute of International Culture)

16: 35-17:20 Closing Remarks
Kunikazu Ueno

(Professor, International Goodwill, Nara Women’s University/Director, the Subcommittee for Southeast
and South Asia of the Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage)

International Symposium

Sustainable Developmentof Historical Cities in South-East Asia
Published March 2018
Edited and Published by:
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