Safeguarding and managing urban conservation areas

Abstract

This dissertation will show the current situation with respect to urban conservation in traditional Maltese towns and villages, especially in their historic cores; that is the Urban Conservation Areas, with respect to International Charters, local legislation and their actual reality. The study aims to understand why valuable buildings and the traditional urban fabric is being lost when a lot of scientific research is being done and a lot of technological advances are being made to prevent deterioration and preserve the historic fabric in the best possible way. Thus, the development of the Urban Conservation concept is studied, including its development into the Historic Urban Landscape approach (HUL), which is a more holistic approach. The same development was also analysed in both International Charters and local Legislation, in order to compare Maltese legislation with international standards and discrepancies were noted. The dissertation shows how the Maltese urban cores were subject to significant development pressures, especially during the twentieth and twenty-first century. This resulted from deficiencies in the laws and lack of proper implementation of local legislation. Consequently, the approach towards not only the urban cores and traditional villages, but also towards the Maltese historic urban landscape, needs to be improved. Thus the new objectives, attitudes and tools required for their conservation were identified and it shows how the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) principles can be applied to the Maltese scenario, to balance between the needs of Urban Development with the requirements of Urban Conservation.