Protecting silent identities of heritage from the ruining living identities in current and futuristic creative cities: the case of Egypt

Abstract

PurposeWith the increasing number of creative cities as well as the reported incidences of deterioration to physical heritage, this paper aims to protect silent identities of heritage from the ruining living identities of modern generations in current and futuristic creative cities.Design/methodology/approachThe research aim is achieved through trait-related mixed methods, since the variances are not method-related, to answer three research questions. The first method was a survey questionnaire distributed to the creative architectural sector because it was the best sector to meet the identified criteria. It aimed to answer if the upperground layer in creative cities considers the underground layer's diversity as a main cause for heritage deterioration and for being a barrier to developing creative solutions. A hypothesis for the first question was tested through a t-test. The second method was to study cases of heritage in present and futuristic creative cities to answer if living identities threaten physical heritage of all ages at the same extent and if the same creativity concepts are applied to all heritage.FindingsThe underground layer's diversity identities were found as a major barrier to the creative architectural sector. The R-value indicated a negative relationship between heritage age and its condition. Cases witnessed different creative expressions, but cases within the same period faced similar concepts of expressed creativity. The proposed tree diagram is a framework that gives numerical guidelines for the interrelationship between every heritage age and creativity concept for novel and conscious creative practices at the upperground layer to solve the conflicts in creative cities.Research limitations/implicationsThe selection of Egypt does not possess a limitation because methodological considerations required for generalising the findings to a broader area were met. Findings in this paper are applicable to all upperground creative sectors that seek to understand the underground layer's diversity. Results are useful for protecting heritage silent identities in all existing and futuristic creative cities in countries that have heritage, of any age, facing deterioration.Originality/valueThe research work in this paper is novel in thought and resolves a perpetual conflict between silent identities and expressive living identities in current and futuristic creative cities through the proposed numerical framework for the upperground creative layer to develop novel conscious solutions. This framework represents a novel synthesis that adds to the existing body of knowledge, as it resolves a critical problem highlighted in previous research studies.