HERITOPOLIS | UNI-METROHUB

The Metropolis is the primary characteristic of 21st-century human communities. Today, a third of humanity or more than 60% of the urban population resides in cities with a population of at least 300,000. Every two weeks, a new metropolis appears. They generate 70% of the global GDP, making them the growth engine for nations and regions. They serve as the primary means by which the globalization process produces comparable artifacts around the world. The metropolis forms the core of the global agenda since it is the manifestation of the global. The future of metropolitan expansion will be in Asia-Pacific and Africa because of their massive urbanization, where fast urbanization and the ecological crises degrade urban resilience and might undermine efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.

HERITOPOLIS AT A GLANCE

The role of cultural and natural heritages in the planning, design, and management of the metropolis of the twenty-first century will be the subject of a three-year research that will culminate in an international conference. Distinguished leaders and visionaries, UN partners, including decision-makers, urban planning agencies, specialists, corporate executives, academic institutions, researchers, and civil society will all be present at the conference’s conclusion. It will serve as a forum to encourage discussions and express novel methods for recognizing, generating, and promoting the significance of heritage in the metropolis of the twenty-first century as a means of advancing the objectives of sustainable development. The UNESCO 2011 Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDG), The New Urban Agenda and other important reporting and monitoring initiatives will benefit from this.

ABOUT THIS PROJECT

The project, which consists of an international conference and international collaborative research, is expected to make a significant contribution to the promotion of creative approaches for creating resilient, socially inclusive, and progressive cities for the 21st century through the utilization of the resources of creativity and innovation, as well as the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals as was defined in the 2020 WUF10 – Cities, Culture, and Innovation.
The work programme and methodological framework include some modules of the UN-Habitat MetroHUB Toolkit

THEMATIC AREAS

The study and conference will explore key questions related to the metropolitan heritage for the 21^st century, such as:

What makes for the identity of a metropolis, as a single unit or an agglomeration of communities?
What is Metropolitan Heritage and the symbiotic connections between urban and rural[1]?
What are the ways in which cultural heritage at the metropolitan level is perceived and used by the people?
What are the policies, strategies and actions that create value of the metropolis?
How may heritage be defined in a fast-changing metropolitan urban fabric and functions?
What are the urban heritage categories, attributes and indicators for the metropolitan dimension?
How can the application of digital knowledge, Big Data and other emerging technologies influence the management and the use of heritage in the metropolis?
How cultural and natural heritage policies can transform cities to reach the New Urban Agenda goals?
How can urban development strategies, policy regulations and incentives help to protect the values of heritage in a metropolitan setting?
How tactical urbanism and urban regeneration can contribute to patrimonialize the metropolitan development?
How different governance systems can integrate heritage into a growth agenda as an enabler of sustainable development?
What is the economic rationale for balancing heritage investment within metropolises?
How do communities (migrants, natives, creative class…) transform their living heritage thereby providing for social inclusion?
How can the metropolis support the resilience of communities in social, environmental and economic instability through urban and rural identities and intangible heritage practices?
Which new planning mechanisms can be applied to valorise heritage in the metropolitan development processes?

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

Policy Paper on Metropolitan Heritage (HERITOPOLIS): safeguarding, planning and design of the metropolis heritage to contribute towards sustainable futures by:

Mapping, assessment and methodology tools for identifying metropolitan heritage
Providing a regional platform for sharing information and implementation of a design tool
Maintaining the vibrance and life of the metropolis and the interaction with economic viability and sustainability and guidance as to how these can be supported
Identifying new cultural demands with social migrations and transformations
Harnessing the mega data generated by the city and the citizens for decision-making

THE TEAM

Twinning cities and academia, contact person in each University for gathering data and input to the Observatory
Senior researcher in each University for preparing guidance and policy papers
Coordination through UN-Habitat UNI partnership Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, with MTPA/Institut Paris Region and Konkuk University.

ESR PROPOSED RESEARCH TEAMS

Socioeconomic transformations
Opportunities for metropolitan structures
Localizing SDGs through the NUA and HUL
Climate Change/ Extremes
Post- Covid World
Urban Health and Wellbeing
(World) Heritage fragments in the Metropolis
New approaches as a system of places to re-intagrate the centrality of the past
Heritage and Landscape – Urban rural linkages

LEARN MORE ABOUT HERITOPOLIS

Visit HERITOPOLIS.ORG