Heritage Impact Assessment, beyond an Assessment Tool: A comparative analysis of urban development impact on visual integrity in four UNESCO World Heritage Properties

Urban growth and modernisation are inevitable phenomena in the developing and developed countries, in which, cultural heritage properties as sensitive urban components may encounter irreparable losses. In the context of UNESCO World Heritage, the uprising conflict between urban development policies and heritage conservation in recent years has drawn more attention to Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) as an assessment tool to identify and analyse human-induced impacts on cultural heritage properties by the aim of maintaining a balance between cultural heritage protection and urban development needs towards sustainability. This paper aims to review the consequence of urban development pressure on cultural World Heritage properties. It further aims to explore the role of Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA), as an assessment instrument, in recognising and analysing the potential threats in advance and in solving the potential conflicts to safeguard the heritage values. The challenge of conservation of cultural heritage within the broader urban development policies is conducted through reviewing the relevant reports and guidelines. Furthermore, a comparative analysis of four World Heritage properties, that their visual integrity has been affected by urban development projects, is carried out to show the different procedures in mitigating the impact and the role of HIA in the processes. Respectively, this paper compares two World Heritage properties of Meidan Emam (Esfahan, Iran) and Cologne Cathedral (Cologne, Germany) which faced a similar urban development threat at the same time. It further elaborates on how the state parties responded to the identical uprising conflict differently. Moreover, the two cases of Golestan Palace (Tehran, Iran) and Historic Centre of Vienna (Vienna, Austria) are reviewed to emphasise the need for multi-sectoral cooperation and capacity-building in the area of HIA, beyond its assessment methodology, to adequately manage the urban development pressure in the future.