ancient cities

A plaza near the Teatro Nacional in the Casco Antiguo World Heritage Site in Panama City.
The main building in the photo is beautifully restored and has a popular restaurant on the
ground floor. The trees are located in the plaza, while to the left of the main building the walls
of an unrestored building are visible. To the left of the scene in the photo are buildings in various
states of disrepair. The area contains stark contrasts between the homes of those wealthy
enough to fully restore the historic buildings and those who occupy buildings that, until the
Heritage designation, were cheap and often undesirable buildings that were poorly maintained.
Source: Eric Mathiasen.
needs of their poor and marginalized residents with
the colonial identity of the town and the demands
of a tourist destination.
Cultural Heritage
197
Large-scale development,
real-estate interests, and tourism-led
aestheticization of culture
have threatened to erode
the fragile and intangible heritage
of indigenous peoples.
Ambiguities about authenticity
are further complicated by histories
of aggression. In recent
years, many see a need to make
reparations for past aggressions
and respect the spirit of plurality
and diversity that cultural
heritage represents. A bottom-up
approach in contrast to
the top-down one of the past
has created a heightened awareness
of the importance of
community and stakeholder
participation. Various governmental
agencies, private
investors, nongovernmental
organizations, local citizens,
and international aid agencies
have a stake in the management
of cultural heritage. The policies
that emerge from such a
participatory process are cooperative
rather than hierarchical.
Emphasizing diversity in culture
and inclusiveness in access and
management of heritage enables
the voices of local and indigenous
peoples to be heard.
Today, there is a greater
awareness of the value of sites
sacred to indigenous peoples.
Although international conventions
and many national policies
have addressed gender
biases and recognized the heritage
of marginalized peoples,
new inequities have emerged.
Cultural heritage has increasingly
become part of cultureled
redevelopment of urban
areas for improved economic
returns and increased competitiveness
between cities. Consequently a bias exists
for the aspects of inheritance that are easily commodified.
Critics have faulted places such as South