Summary

Having set the general scene for urban conservation we now concentrate on the process for one particular element in the system, the cultural built heritage (CBH): that part of the built environment selected by Government for conservation into the future. In order to explore the nature of the CBH (Chapter 4), we first link it with the general heritage of man of which the CBH is but a small part (4.1), emphasising that such general heritage also has proprietary interests (4.2). We then bring out the distinction between the general and cultural heritage (4.3) in order to concentrate on the CBH (4.4), bringing out its characteristics as property and commodity (4.5) and then return to the question (1.8 above): why do we conserve it? (4.6). We then show how such conservation relates back to the process of obsolescence, renewal and conservation, discussed in 1.6 (4.7). We then bring out the distinctive features in property management for the conservation of the CBH (4.8).

If we are to conserve the CBH in any meaningful way, we need to identify just what that heritage is and how the protection against erosion is to be carried out (Chapter 5). This needs the foundation of some coherent philosophy and theory of conservation and logical answers as to the why of conservation (5.1).