Cultural heritage circular governance for the integrated conservation of historic cities: The case of the Medina of Munis

Abstract

Several factors overlap in making urban heritage conservation vulnerable in terms of long-term sustainability. Urban heritage is a non-renewable resource and a common good that is frequently under threat from globalization, development, demographic change, and economy, climate change impacts, and uncontrolled urbanization. The obsolescence of publicly owned buildings having great cultural significance is affecting historic cities/districts, and driving governments to opt for innovative heritage governance policies. Therefore, many initiatives were led in light of the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach and the debate around a more sustainable future. However, these already established heritage conservation models are based on a single custodian model of cultural heritage management and financing. Several integrated conservation strategies achieved in a European context have long been the dominant governance models for cultural heritage assets. The Integrated Territorial and Urban Conservation Program (ITUC) at ICCROM, is one example of integrated heritage conservation attempts. Open Heritage project (European Commission, Horizon 2020), The global cultural districts network, GCDN, the Historic Districts initiative, and COMUS (Community-Led Urban Strategies) are several other integrated conservation approaches led at a European level. These conservation principles have been evaluated as vulnerable and ineffective for long-term sustainability aims. Consequently, an alternative approach to cultural heritage governance has become an inquiry. Building on the principle of the prevalence of circular economy (CE) in the sustainable transition, the EU launched the CE-based Green Deal strategy to respond to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the EU's 2050 target of 0% emissions. The initiative resulted in making the circularity concept go beyond the economic sphere and be adopted in cities helping them attain a long-lasting sustainable future. Thus, in line with the EU Green Deal, culture has been adopted as an entry point to reach Europe's 2050 aim. Consequently, the relation between CE and CH conservation strategies became an Up-to-date concern for local policymakers. This resulted in a shift from a 'governing for culture' approach to a 'governing through culture' approach and the initiation of the circular governance debate in heritage conservation. Pioneers in adopting a similar approach in heritage-led projects are the Regeneration and Optimization of Cultural Heritage in Creative and Knowledge Cities and the Circular Models Leveraging Investments in the Cultural Heritage Adaptive Reuse (CLIC) project. Within the abovementioned circular governance debate for more integrated heritage conservation, recent follow-ups of the application of the HUL recommendations identified gaps in implementing the approach in developing countries. One such example that is witnessing this gap is the Medina of Tunis. Situated right at the center of Tunisia's capital, and comprising all the features of a traditional Islamic city. It hosts around 700 UNESCO-registered historic monuments, distributed in seven areas, among which the most remarkable is Al-Zaytouna Mosque, situated right at its heart. After the Second World War, the Medina of Tunis was seen by its city managers as a squatter settlement area where residents were living in dangerous and dilapidated conditions. They had even seen it as an eyesore and an obstacle to their ambitious plans to beautify the newly annexed French city (la Ville Nouvelle). However, efforts made by the government alongside non-governmental organizations like the Association of Safeguarding of the Medina (ASM), contributed to sustaining its urban scenery over decades. It became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979 and it is still interwoven into the city until presently. However, the conservation policies for the Medina of Tunis need to deepen the relation between vertical governance in heritage institutions and the emergence of a collective democratization spirit in the place-making process. Despite improvements in the way heritage items have been reused in the Medina of Tunis, experts' perception witnesses that historic fabric is being lost in a hustle of lack of coordination and in the absence of a holistic view for heritage conservation. The following study assumes that a circular governance-based decision-making framework could be developed and applied to the integrated conservation approach for the Medina of Tunis historic city. It mainly aimed at defining a circular governance-based decision-making framework for the integrated conservation of historic cities/districts adopting the Medina of Tunis historic city as a test case. This aim was fulfilled through a multi-layered method, where the 'Theoretical model-building method, and 'the inductive category' Method were applied to define the theoretical framework for the integrated conservation of historic cities based on the circular governance approach. The first step for the development of the decision-making framework is achieved by defining five main indicators for circular governance of heritage assets. Then, the 'Expert Interview' method was adopted. Therein, an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)-based coded, formalized survey was conducted to draw upon the cross-matching relationships between the defined circular governance indicators. Novelty applies not only to the AHP to formulate an expert opinion-based decision-making framework for the integrated conservation of historic cities/regions but also the methods adopted for selecting the circular governance indicators and sub-indicators necessary for the prioritization protocol. Finally, to support the agreement around the elaborated results, a case study encompassing an assessment of the conservation status of the Medina of Tunis was led. The results showed that when comparing the opinions of case-dependent and case-independent experts on decision-making concerning the circular governance indicators, the main prioritized indicator of circular governance is knowledge and data exchange. This stands for the importance of knowledge and data exchange for heritage-led urban regeneration and the effect of accurate redistribution of cultural activities in historic city centers via ICT tools and data sharing. After analyzing the AHP-based experts' opinion, a second Expert interview was conducted with case-related professionals. This survey led to putting forward a circular governance-based assessment of the heritage conservation for the Medina of Tunis. Therefore, it ended by defining the challenges and opportunities in the test case. The deficit in funding resources and the state subsidies, the lack of cooperation and coordination between the heritage conservation actors, the lacunas in the application texts for heritage conservation legislation, and the need for holistic long-term sustainability-based regeneration policies are among the most important problems repeatedly claimed by the experts. In light of the heritage conservation assessment (case study) and the in-depth expert interview results, a decision-making framework for a circular governance-based integrated conservation for the Medina of Tunis was suggested. Building on the results of the AHP-based surveys, recommendations inherent to the decision-making concerning the circular governance-based integrated conservation were listed and cross-matched to their respective indicators from the defined framework. Then a correlation is established between the problems of heritage conservation in the test case and the given recommendations for decision-making. Consequently, for the integrated conservation of the Medina of Tunis to be more circular-governance focused, the suggested policy instrument adopts five different phases, i.e. the Knowledge & Smart City, the City of Art & Culture, the Inclusive & Sustainable City, the Environment-Friendly City, and lastly the Secure City. All the phases of the recommended decision-making framework are interwoven following a circular process breaking with the conventional hierarchical systems for governing heritage assets. Since in the case of the Medina of Tunis, more importance has been given to knowledge and data exchange and the cultural circle, the main guidelines of the suggested instrument consider further focusing on smart technologies and data sharing particularly in tourism and cultural activities by strengthening the capacity to innovate through information and communication technology (ICT). Besides, for the Medina of Tunis to be more culture-focused, it is suggested to emphasize the city branding by determining themes for creative placemaking (vibrant nightlife), developing potential cultural events (ephemeral urbanism), and the performing of art/music centers, bookstore, and museums. This, however, does not deny the importance of each defined phase for the completion of the governance circle and the proactiveness of all the factors embedded in the decision-making framework. To end, the defined decision-making guideline calls for the interaction of at least more than two phases to solve each detected problem in the test case. This, once more, proves the correctness of the hypothesis defined at the beginning of the research, i.e., a circularity-based decision-making framework can be developed and applied to the integrated conservation approach for the Medina of Tunis historic city. In summation, circularity is more looked upon as a tool for limiting the impact of climate change only. The need for an integrative approach in heritage conservation is overlooked when it comes to applying a circular approach. Even though an application of the circular approach to heritage cities saw more appeal, there are still some cautions towards the monumental values of the built heritage. This study, however, contributed to showing that according to experts' opinion, a circular governance approach, inclusive of both the tangible and intangible aspects of heritage, is applicable for better-integrated conservation of historic cities. To end although circular governance is by definition a reflexive governance intended as a 'self-critical governance that analyses and monitors its own results' through continuous feedback processes, assessing the effectiveness of circular approach implementation for decisions on historic city conservation is currently an approach open for debate. To assess the overall effectiveness of the suggested decision-making chain for the integrated conservation of the Medina of Tunis, long-term monitoring of the suggested approach (and the indicators/sub-indicators included therein) is already in place for long-term assessment of the framework.