Historic Urban Landscape and the Character of George Town, Penang UNESCO World Heritage Site

Abstract

The increasing intervention from high rise construction and new developments within the historic urban fabric are threatening the existing character and the Outstanding Universal Value of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site List. This paper propagates that through the identification of historic urban landscapes that influence the character of the George Town world heritage sites, we are able to understand the relationships between the landscape components and the importance of historic characters of the sites. The methodology of this paper is based on written descriptions and site visual observations. The outcome of this paper reveals the significance of tangible and intangible factors that influence the urban landscape character of the case study area.