The HUL approach to create heritage management tools in the latin american city of Cuenca-Ecuador

Abstract

The implementation of the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape for the city of Cuenca (Ecuador) pursues an understanding of the complexity of the city’s heritage. Cuenca was inscribed on the World Heritage List (1999), and there is currently an attempt to condition the urban development of the city for the future. For 2 years, natural, cultural and human resources in Cuenca have been studied, mapped by the universities, and a consensus, through participatory planning and stakeholder consultations, has been built. This process accomplishes the goal of protecting the attributes in which the city values are embedded and at the same time can be related to steps 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 from the six-step action plan for the HUL implementation, provided by the 2011 UNESCO Recommendation (UNESCO 2011; Veldpaus and Pereira Roders 2013). These steps have led to a vulnerability assessment of the city related to socioeconomic stresses as well as the drafting of different recommendations for action for the ongoing city development in Cuenca. Finally, after the university-driven initiative, the last steps are expected to be implemented and led by the Municipality of Cuenca. The project itself serves as a good practices manual on how to apply the six steps of the recommendation approach. This paper outlines the processes involved in implementing the steps while also reflecting on the wider significance of the case of Cuenca in the Historic Urban Landscape Discourse