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“Monitoring Processes of Change in Historic Centers: A Case Study of Fes, Morocco,” Case Study Paper for UNESCO World Heritage Center and the International Centre for the Study of Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), 2002

Abstract

Mona Serageldin presented the report “Monitoring Processes of Change in Historic Centers: A Case Study of Fes, Morocco” at a workshop on Monitoring World Heritage in November 2002, held in Vicenza, Italy and sponsored by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the International Centre for the Study of Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM). Serageldin’s report assesses the rehabilitation strategy for the Medina of Fez based on a spatial analysis and social and economic indicators, and outlines the considerations involved in implementing the strategy and a geographic monitoring system.


[Excerpt: Abstract, p. 3]

ABSTRACT
“Historic centers encompass monumental buildings and landmarks embedded within a rich urban fabric of utilitarian buildings. Property owners and residents are constantly altering these buildings to adapt them to new needs and lifestyles. Their interventions trigger interlinked processes of transformation that lead either to preservation or to deterioration. Rehabilitation strategies must reconcile the plurality of views, interests, mandates and missions adds layers of complexity to the already challenging task of coping with the impact of disinvestments, misuse, abuse and neglect eroding the quality of life in historic centers.”

“The strategy developed for the first phase of the rehabilitation of the Medina of Fez required a thorough understanding of the dynamics at work in the Medina and of the institutional and financial blockages that prevented reinvestment and fostered the continued deterioration of residential buildings. This assessment was based on a spatial analysis of the key physical, social and economic indicators for the area, including property transactions and building permits for new construction and improvements.”

“The institutionalization and periodic updating of a monitoring system recording the key indicators used in the preparation of the project and linking these databases to the ADER-FEZ GIS has been recommended, but not yet implemented. With a good monitoring system in place and closer collaboration between the tax Department and the Municipality the tax yield from the Medina would be enhanced and the interest of the authorities in the historic core as a viable economic entity [would be] rekindled.”

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“At the Center for Urban Development Studies, we have developed an approach to revitalization and rehabilitation that recognizes the plurality of stakeholders in historic centers. We accept the evaluation of cultural significance given to different components of the historic urban fabric by specialized agencies. Our role is to assist local government in devising strategies ensuring coherence, inclusion and impact. Our approach to action plans focuses on valorization of the urban fabric based on the dynamics of change in the site as a living component of a larger urban agglomeration.”

Project Year:2002
Project Type:Workshop
Geographic Regions:Fes, Morocco
Reports:Monitoring Processes of Change in Historic Centers: Fes, Morocco (November 2002)
Authors:Mona Serageldin
Sponsors:UNESCO World Heritage Centre; International Centre for the Study of Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM)
Categories:Education
  
ID:2002_11_001

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Gallery 10: Morocco: Fes, Casablanca, and Rabat (1983-1993)