All over the world, cities are facing growing pressure to
develop upwards with tall buildings that have a direct impact upon their visual
character. In reaction, systems of view protection have been developed to
conserve the familiar visual experience of cities. Such developments, and the
effectiveness of systems of view protection, continue to be both politically
and financially risky for developers, architects, planners and politicians
alike. Controversy highlights the lack of both a scholarly and practical
understanding of the ideas that underpin view protection policy - where did
they originate? What do they mean? How do they work? And what are their
consequences?



Value in the View: Conserving Historic Urban Views presents
readers with a comprehensive study of the ideas and philosophies at work in
policies of view protection. The power of UNESCO's policy of view protection is
investigated through six studies of contemporary cities (London, Dresden, St
Petersburg, Istanbul and Vancouver). With the idea of 'the view' at its core,
this book examines how dominant international ideas of heritage are
constructed, maintained and reinforced, and explores how they exert power over
the urban and architectural form of contemporary cities. It's a highly engaging
guide that will aid practitioners in the implementation of policy and design of
development within historic urban contexts, as well as contributing to
scholarly debate on the protection of views in architecture and planning.