From Objects to Systems: Rethinking Heritage Conservation Through the Historic Urban Landscape

The Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach expands urban heritage management beyond the protection of individual buildings to consider the broader urban context and the diversity of heritage values embedded in the city. This perspective challenges conventional practices based on static inventories focused mainly on architectural and historical significance, promoting instead context-sensitive strategies that acknowledge the evolving nature of urban heritage. This paper proposes a methodology based on historical landscape analysis to map urban heritage as a spatial system shaped by elements that define the city’s configuration, identity, and transformation over time. Using historical cartography, archival documents, and scholarly sources integrated in a Historical Geographic Information System (HGIS), heritage is identified as a set of entities whose significance is interpreted according to their role within the urban landscape. Conceived as a practical tool for planners and heritage managers, the methodology supports adaptive and integrated heritage management aligned with HUL principles and helps bridge the gap between heritage assessment and planning practice. The approach is demonstrated through a case study in Seville.