‘Our Town’!—Final considerations

Abstract

Urban environments are changing rapidly, particularly in the Global South. Whether intended or not, such change is impacting strongly on what is left from the historic urban centres. Attachment to the place itself as well as to urban intangible values nevertheless is still high among the urban population but receiving comparably little attention in formal planning and urban development processes. Cultural, natural and intangible heritage is hardly addressed together in the same legal framework, although they are hard to separate in people’s perception. Historic urban centres, their places, sites, uses and traditions contribute to place attachment, which itself is a major component of urban identity. Particularly intangible heritage is a crucial point and increasingly recognized in global discourses, but yet not often considered on urban scales. Particularly urban regeneration projects are often biasing intangible values. Nevertheless, a major part of urban key actors in the case study cities of Kathmandu, Yogyakarta and Recife recognize the important role that urban heritage can play in sustainable urban development.