The politics of World Heritage Sites: city planning, bird shit architecture and European impunity

Abstract

Liverpool holds the unenviable distinction to be the first UK city to lose its United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site status. It was inscribed in 2004, placed on the ‘in Danger’ list in 2012 and de-listed in 2021 due to the perceived negative impact of extensive waterfront regeneration. Planning permission for the £5.5 billion Liverpool Waters project and Everton Football Club's £500 million stadium sealed the city's fate. This is both interesting and unusual. First, very few properties appear on the ‘in Danger’ list, and before Liverpool, only two other sites had been de-listed since the mid-1970s. Second, extant knowledge indicates that European states enjoy ‘impunity’ from World Heritage Committee decisions. However, this was not the case with regards to the UK State Party and Liverpool. Through an analysis of city planning and the ‘politics at the site’, this article problematizes how and why Liverpool was controversially de-listed as a World Heritage Site. Beyond the case study, this article contributes to, and drives forward, international debates on World Heritage Sites.