Abstract
Different from a single monument or site, heritage management in historical towns and cities pays more attention to the people who live there and keep the site livable in a sustainable way. By taking the UNESCO World Heritage site of Bamberg as a case study, the paper examines how a historical town with community is facing the challenges of vitality and livability driven by the pressure of new developments, such as intensive touristic use and the decrease in number and turnover of traditional shops. Recently, additional challenges have been brought about by the lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which affected the quality of life in the old town. We argue that a delicate balance between urban regeneration, urban development and heritage preservation is crucial in this respect and both strategic planning and heritage management tools need to be applied. In this context, mixed-use structures, particularly for residential, commercial and tourism purposes, are the key to ensure sustainable development of living heritage such as in the old town of Bamberg. Thus, the main tasks of heritage management involve two aspects: First, mixed use of residence, commerce and tourism and so on should be promoted to develop a resilient and safe city. Second, conflicts among various uses should be balanced and coordinated to develop an inclusive city. The paper explores how funding schemes and legal instruments from the federal and local levels can be employed to successfully cope with the challenges between sustainable conservation and development and to develop a heritage core in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal 11 to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”.
