Urban regeneration through heritage tourism: cultural policies and strategic management

ABSTRACT

In spite of its influential history of saffron production and carpet weaving, as well as its notable urban historic fabric, the historic city of Birjand, Iran, has lost its original appeal due to various social, cultural, economic, and physical problems. This research investigates the potential for heritage tourism to help regenerate a declining historic city by utilizing urban cultural capital. This case study utilizes a conceptual framework of current trends in urban renewal and cultural assets, as well as a SWOT-ANP approach to understand the primary ways in which a declining urban destination can utilize its cultural heritage to regenerate physically, socially and economically. Findings suggest that successful implementation or urban regeneration through heritage tourism occurs when a city makes maximum use of opportunities in four areas: cultural policy-making, holding cultural events, participatory management, and enhancement of public urban spaces through competitive/pro-action, diversification, revision and defence strategies.

KEYWORDS:

• Urban regeneration
• heritage tourism
• policies
• branding
• Birjand
• Iran

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Azadeh Lak is an Assistant Professor in Urban Planning and Design Department in Architecture and Urbanism Faculty at the University of Shahid Beheshti, Tehran City. She has degrees in Architecture (MA), Urban Design (MA), and Ph.D. in Urban Design from Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran, Iran. She is interested in urban regeneration and cultural tourism in old cities.

Mahdi Gheitasi Graduated in MA in Urban design from Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran Iran. He has degree in BA in urban planning.

Dr. Dallen J. Timothy is a Professor in the School of Community Resources and Development at Arizona State University. He holds a B.Sc. Degree in geography from Brigham Young University, an M.A. in geography from the University of Western Ontario, and a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Waterloo. His research interests in tourism include heritage, community-based planning, political boundaries and supranationalism, shopping and consumption, peripheral and rural regions, less-developed countries, and religiously-motivated travel.