Learning from Urban Heritage Conservation in Yazd: Achievements and Warnings

This paper addresses the conservation policies of Yazd, a major element in the framework of Iran’s historic environment. The goal of the paper is to examine those factors which may have favoured the evolution of the city during the conservation process and what conclusions we can draw for the preservation of other Iranian cities. To this end, the paper analyses three main aspects of the conservation process: the role of local authorities and development plans; the method of conservation in public and private spaces; and social involvement. The paper develops by focusing on the achievements, the strategies and challenges which affect the conservation process nowadays. It illustrates the transition from generically desirable objectives to special planning for urban heritage and preservation revealing several crucial factors in that process. In particular, the following topics are discussed: the importance of open public spaces as a trigger for the wider recovery of the whole historic city, the high cost and uncertain outcomes of private intervention, the community involvement, the transportation system and the challenge of soft mobility, the role of central functions in the new-old city, and the unused potential of religious endowments. At the end, the paper synthesises the achievements, lessons and warnings coming from this still on-going project.