Planning for change, conserving the past: towards sustainable development policy in historic cities?

Policymakers and planners are now aware that historic cities require regulatory mechanisms if they are to maintain and enhance the fabric upon which their historicity and economic vitality is based, Tensions over land use, changes in the nature of local economies, and the continued consumption of historic assets place considerable pressures on those distinctive features that make historic cities attractive places in which to vacation, live, work and invest. Such pressures have brought into focus the extent to which sustainable development policies can contribute to the management of change in historic cities, This article explores some of the conceptual issues raised by the sustainability/historic city debate, and examines the degree to which sustainable development policy is emerging in historic cities. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.