Institutional arrangements for urban conservation

Abstract

Under rapid city expansion in the twentieth century, efforts on urban conservations did not bear great fruit internationally although progress has been made. From institutional analysis perspective, we posit that the main crux of the problems lies in the misalignment of incentives among various agents in the market and the divergence of private and social costs. With reference to the most recent experiences in the USA, the UK, Serbia, China and Hong Kong, this paper takes stock and investigates the key institutional efforts contributing to the urban conservation market, namely (1) international governance, (2) regulatory frameworks, (3) financial arrangements, (4) social engagements, (5) participatory planning and (6) market innovations. We contend that integrated analyses jointly carried out by scholars in urban conservation and institutions will, on the one hand, fill the gaps in their fields, respectively, and on the other hand, shed new insights on the understanding of the social and economic value of built-heritage in achieving the long-term sustainable development of cities.