ECONOMICS UNIQUENESS

144 ■ THE ECONOMICS OF UNIQUENESS
Introduction
Th is chapter discusses the contribution that the governance arrangements can
make to attain the sustainable conservation of historic city cores, as a means to
enhance the livability and economic vibrancy of cities. It uses the broad defi nition
of governance proposed by Bell: “Th e use of institutions, structures of authority
and even collaboration to allocate resources and coordinate or control activity
in society or the economy” (Bell 2002). Consequently, the analysis focuses on a
wide array of issues including laws, regulations, procedures for decision making,
public institutions of command and control, institutional arrangements for promoting
inter-sector and public-private coordination, and the institutional as well
as expert capacity of the personnel devoted to the task.
Th e discussion centers on the governance issues posed by the conservation of
one type of urban heritage, historic city cores, and how the governance process
aff ects the sustainability of the conservation eff ort. Th e discussion uses an operational
defi nition of sustainability, adapted to this specifi c area of concern: the
conservation of a historic city core is considered sustainable when: (1) the area is
attractive to a wide variety of users that demand space for developing residential,
commercial, service, cultural, and recreational activities; (2) private investment
is available, supplying the demand for space for these activities and maintaining
the historic characteristic of private buildings; and (3) public resources are
used mostly for the provision of public goods. Th e normal operation of the markets
only rarely leads to such outcomes in historic city cores; thus, some form of
government intervention is almost always required. Furthermore, the needs and
preferences of modern society call for historic city cores to be rehabilitated and
adaptively reused without losing their historic character.
Governance: Values, Actors, and Processes
in the Conservation of Urban Heritage
An urban heritage area—including the network of streets and public spaces,
the built structures, and the land-use pattern—comprises material assets that
carry diff erent values for diff erent actors. Consequently, their valuation must
take into consideration a broad range of interested actors—henceforth termed
stakeholders—and the wide variety of reasons why they consider these assets
valuable. Th e decision-making process leading to the regeneration of historic
city cores must include a broad spectrum of stakeholders to balance their distinct
competing interests. Reaching a workable agreement to support regeneration
of historic city cores is the main challenge for the governance of urban
heritage.