Persistence, Inertia, Adaptation and Life Cycle: Applying Urban Morphological Ideas to Conceptualise Sustainable City-Centre Change

Abstract

Consideration of the speed and scale of change of urban forms has a long history in urban morphological thought. Buildings and forms that persist in the urban landscape through inertia or, more positively, deliberate decisions to retain them create character and -a more recent argument -contribute to sustainability not least in their embedded energy. This paper explores issues of the persistence and adaptation of some urban forms, focusing on the central business district of Birmingham, UK. Much of this is now protected as a conservation area, and some of its forms have persisted for centuries. Yet there have been periods of rapid change, and we examine the extent of change following Second World War bomb damage. This allows discussion of the dynamics of change and the agents and agencies responsible for producing new urban forms or

A Study on the Sustainable Development of Historic District Landscapes Based on Place Attachment among Tourists: A Case Study of Taiping Old Street, Taiwan

“…To achieve the research purpose, we need to answer the following two questions: (1) What aspects do tourists consider when evaluating the landscape of historic districts? (2) What is the association between landscape evaluation by tourists and their attachment to historic districts? In an effort to find a solution to the issues under study, we put forward two research objectives:…”

“…In Goal 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proposed making "cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable" by strengthening "efforts to protect and safeguard the world's cultural and natural heritage" with detailed rules [1]. Historic districts are part of the cultural heritage of a city, and protecting historic architectural landscapes can lead to sustainable urban features [2]. As indicated by the International Congresses of Modern Architecture in the Athens Charter in 1933, "all the buildings and blocks of historical values shall be properly preserved without damage."…”

Revisioning and Rebuilding Britain’s War-Damaged Cities

“…But, as with all plans, the radical future turns out not to have been particularly radical or necessarily successful in the longer term. The sometimes surprisingly short lifespans of some buildings, or even major infrastructure investments (Larkham & Adams, 2019), demonstrate this; nevertheless, plans have to be made. Hence, both the reconstruction plan and the physical reconstruction require eventual re-evaluation.…”

European Planning History in the 20th Century

“…Interviews of plan authors have been useful (Voldman 1990) although subject to problems of fading memory and potential bias; while interviews of those who lived through the reconstruction process have also been revealing (Adams and Larkham 2013) but, now, survivors are scarce. Finally, the urban landscape itself still reveals substantial evidence of damage and rebuilding although, 70 years later, reconstruction-era buildings are themselves being redeveloped (Larkham and Adams 2019).…”

“…been targeted for redevelopment within the space of a couple of decades. Both individual buildings, and even major infrastructure representing multi-million-pound investments, have been subject to rapid obsolescence (Larkham and Adams 2019).…”