Query: historic quarters

title: Revitalizing historic urban quarters: A model for determining the most relevant strategic approach
abstract: For a couple of decades now revitalization of historic urban quarters has become popular throughout the world especially in many European cities. In some cases the positive transformation of these valuable places has not been achieved. However, there have been some success stories. The aim of this paper is to question the background of these differences and try to reach a proposal of a model for the determination of the most appropriate strategic approach for their revitalization. The method, which is employed in this paper, rests upon a thorough literature survey, which has conveyed an understanding of the revitalization rationale. The validity of the proposed model has been examined on many different examples of revitalization projects in European cities.

title: Revitalising Historic Urban Quarters

title: From cultural quarters to creative clusters creative spaces in the new city economy
abstract: Attention to, and investigation of, the phenomenon of cultural and creative quarters is now widespread. From historic city centre and industrial heritage sites, alternative communities and settlements (Miles 2005) to institutional "shopping malls of culture" (Bogner 2001) and digital media and knowledge cit ies. No longer limited to developed old world cities and historic quarters, the perceived benefits of spatially defined cultural clusters is evident in small and medium sized towns, in fast de veloping countries and in city states such as Singapore. Research and conceptual models include "scenes" (Lange 2005) economic models of agglomeration (Porter 2000) and consumption (retail, entertainment, tourism) 'destination' clusters; proxy indices of the "creative class" (Florida 2005) and the integration of plan ning of the creative city project (Landry 2000) These are dis cussed through the analysis of a survey of creative industry clus ter strategies promoted by over 75 cities regions worldwide, with examples of creative cluster developments and their underlying rationales.

title: Urban conservation and revalorisation of dilapidated historic quarters: The case of Nanluoguxiang in Beijing
abstract: Property led urban redevelopment in contemporary Chinese cities often results in the demolition of many historical buildings and neighbourhoods, invoking criticisms from conservationists. In the case of Beijing, the municipal government produced a series of documents in the early 2000s to implement detailed plans to conserve 25 designated historic areas in the Old City of Beijing. This paper aims to examine the recent socio economic and spatial changes that took place within government designated conservation areas, and scrutinise the role of the local state and real estate capital that brought about these changes. Based on recent field visits and semi structured interviews with local residents and business premises in a case study area, this paper puts forward two main arguments. First, Beijing's urban conservation policies enabled the intervention of the local state to facilitate revalorisation of dilapidated historic quarters and to release dilapidated courtyard houses on the real estate market. The revalorisation was possible with the participation of a particular type of real estate capital that had interests in the aesthetic value that historic quarters and traditional courtyard houses provided. Second, the paper also argues that economic benefits generated by urban conservation, if any, were shared disproportionately among local residents, and that local residents' lack of opportunities to 'voice out' further consolidated the property led characteristic of urban conservation, which failed to pay attention to social lives.

title: An analytical methodology for revitalization strategies in historic urban quarters: a case study of the Walled City of Nicosia, North Cyprus
abstract: Historic urban quarters are special places not only due to the cultural heritage that they house, but also due to their urban pattern. Many such quarters are in a danger of losing their traditional character if relevant measures are not put in place to ensure the continuity of this character. This paper proposes a new method based on SWOT analysis for identifying and assessing the key criteria of historic urban quarters; from its findings it proceeds to derive an appropriate revitalization strategy. In order to illustrate the implications of the proposed methodology, to check its validity, and to see how it empirically works, the paper uses the Walled City of Nicosia in Cyprus as a case study.

title: Rethinking place branding and place making through creative and cultural quarters
abstract: Cultural and creative quarters from historic districts to new digital hubs feature heavily in economic development and cluster studies, but their role in place making and branding is only recently being discovered. Essentially production based, they also tend to locate in industrial areas of cities which are also the subject of regeneration and transformation. As cities seek towiden their brand offer and diversify the range of destinations to a discerning visitor and residential market (local, domestic and international) these areas, which combine work and play, represent a distinct place brand. Through city case studies from several countries, this chapter critiques the emergence of the creative quarter through organic place making and their value as a place brand in areas of the city which have not traditionally been considered a destination. How far policy and planning can support and protect these post/new industrial quarters is also discussed, including the concomitant risks of gentrification and commodification that branding can infer.

title: A Model for Measuring the Sustainability Level of Historic Urban Quarters
abstract: The main aim of this paper is to propose a model for measuring the sustainability level of historic urban quarters and to indicate an appropriate strategy for their revitalization. Based on this aim, this study first presents the theoretical review on the concept of "revitalization" and its relationship with sustainability; next, it introduces the characteristics, role, selection process and scaling method of sustainability indicators, which are essential for measuring the level of sustainability. The paper then, as the main contribution of this paper, proposes the model for measuring the level of sustainability in historic urban quarters and determines some proposals to achieve revitalized and sustainable historic urban quarters. Depending on the proposed model, there is a direct relationship between type and the level of obsolescence (revitalization) and the level of sustainability in the physical, economic and social structures of a particular area. Therefore, when the level of sustainability is high in any one of these three structures, it means that the level of obsolescence is low in the same structures of an historic urban quarter. The result of this paper leads us to say that, the level of sustainability is a new (additional) input in the strategic planning process of revitalization and sustainable urban revitalization of historic urban quarters. Finally, the paper concludes with a brief summary on the general arguments of the paper.

title: Voices in the revolution: Resisting territorial stigma and social relegation in Porto's historic centre (1974 1976)
abstract: This article tries to broaden the research agenda on territorial stigmatisation. It reviews some theoretical arguments on the relevance of a relational sociological reading of the processes of territorial stigmatisation, and proposes a study of these processes during a period of political revolution and social instability, through discussion of the case presented by the city of Porto, Portugal, in the mid 1970s. Based on the study of institutional archives, ethnographic work in several neighbourhoods, and semi structured interviews with social actors involved in these processes, the article describes the urban and housing conditions of inner city Porto's working class boroughs in the first three quarters of the 20th century and discusses the forms of political and social resistance taken up by residents from the most dilapidated neighbourhoods following the revolution of April 1974. The sociological analysis of the actions that gave origin to the voice of the residents in the historic centre of the city in this period reveals significant interaction with the processes of territorial stigmatisation, via organised collective resistance.

title: Persistent Scatterer Interferometry Processing of COSMO SkyMed StripMap HIMAGE Time Series to Depict Deformation of the Historic Centre of Rome, Italy
abstract: We processed X band COSMO SkyMed 3 m resolution StripMap HIMAGE time series (March 2011 June 2013) with the Stanford Method for Persistent Scatterers (StaMPS) to retrieve an updated picture of the condition and structural health of the historic centre of Rome, Italy, and neighbouring quarters. Taking advantage of an average target density of over 2800 PS/km2, we analysed the spatial distribution of more than 310,000 radar targets against: (1) land cover; (2) the location of archaeological ruins and restoration activities; and (3) the size, orientation and morphology of historical buildings. Radar interpretation was addressed from the perspective of conservators, and the deformation estimates were correlated to local geohazards and triggering factors of structural collapse. In the context of overall stability, deformation was identified at the single monument scale, e.g. for the Roman cistern and exedra in the Oppian Hill. Comparative assessment against InSAR processing of C band imagery (1992 2010) published in the literature confirms the persistence of ground motions affecting monuments and subsidence in southern residential quarters adjacent to the Tiber River, due to the consolidation of compressible deposits. Vertical velocity estimated from COSMO SkyMed PS exceeds 7.0 mm/y in areas of recent urbanization.

title: Assessing the role of users in sustainable revitalization of historic urban quarters: The case of Bursa Khans District
abstract: Historic urban quarters which are vital for the physical, economic and socio cultural sustainable development of cities, are subject to fast paced changes due to the effects of globalization and rapid urbanization. Preventing the nega tive effects of urbanization and globalization and maintaining the unique iden tity of historic urban quarters for the future can only be possible by means of sustainable revitalization strategies which involve all relevant stakeholders in a holistic approach. Even though there is extensive research that focuses on the environmental, socio cultural and economic dimensions of sustainable revitalization strategies, relatively fewer studies specifically deal with the user perceptions, images and opinions. By considering local people as a valuable resource, the aim of this paper is to assess users' role in sustainable revitalization. Khans District which is not only a historic but also a commercial and cultural center of the city of Bursa has been chosen as a case due to the ongoing transformation of this district. Methodologically, cognitive mapping and survey questionnaires have been used to obtain data. The findings showed that user sourced data can contribute to the physical, social, economic and governance dimensions of sustainable revitalization strategies. This data can also influence (1) the determination of aims and targets, (2) planning and design and (3) the management stage of sustainable revitalization process. Consequently, as a valuable resource, it has been found out that users' perceptions, images and opinions can provide important data for sustainable revitalization.