‹ Urban Focus

Historic city centres

The specific character of historic city centres is based on their cultural heritage value, representing an attraction factor for residents, businesses, and visitors. Historic centres management should ensure the balance between heritage conservation and economic development, and the specific policies – programmes and projects should reach objectives related to monuments restoration, public space rehabilitation, but also functional re-conversion, attracting new activities, social protection for inhabitants, tourist promotion, etc.

All these require a strategic and creative approach of the process, considering the partnership among key actors, public or private, where local administration has a leading role, but the businesses, the community, and its associations are equally important. Examples of such projects in four European cities – Graz, Brussels, Chemnitz, Valetta – are described on the URBACT Website.

• http://urbact.eu/themes/urban-regeneration/historic-city-centres.html