Developing a Conceptual Framework of Integrity in Urban Heritage Conservation

The concept of integrity, as a factor of sustaining values and significance of cultural heritage, is considered to be a key element in the process of urban heritage conservation. Review and analysis of documents, conventions and theories concerning the role of integrity in urban heritage conservation shows that in recent decades, the concept of integrity has attracted attention worldwide in the process of selection, assessment, and codification of the comprehensive conservation and management plan of urban heritage, particularly in the World Heritage sites. Currently, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre has a unique role among other scientific associations. In recent years, the World Heritage Center has put efforts into developing a conceptual framework in order to offer the criteria for evaluation, conservation and management of various types of heritage including the urban heritage. This research is carried with the aim of developing a conceptual framework for integrity in urban heritage conservation by determining the concepts related to integrity. The main question of this paper is that what are the dimensions, aspects, components and criteria of integrity within the domain of urban heritage conservation? Documents and related theories of integrity highlight the importance of conserving the integrity and stability of the cultural dimensions, besides natural dimensions, tangible and intangible aspects and intactness and wholeness components in the process of recognizing and conserving the integrity of place which are possible to be measured and evaluated by structural-historical integrity, functional-social integrity and visual-aesthetic integrity. The major contribution of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework for urban heritage conservation, applying all the above mentioned issues.