Our Outputs
The HerO Partners' Local Action Plans
In close cooperation with their associated Managing Authorities and with involvement of their local stakeholders, all HerO partner cities elaborated ‘Local Action Plans’ which describe the cities’ main challenges with regard to the safeguarding of the built cultural heritage and the sustainable development of their historic urban areas.
The LAPs outline the cities' approaches to the elaboration of an Integrated Cultural Heritage Management Plan and include a list of concrete measures to be implemented in the upcoming years.
The network partners' most important projects to be implemented in the upcoming years have been compiled in the 'HerO List of Flagship Projects'.
The Road to Success - Integrated Management of Historic Towns
Guidebook
There are many cities in Europe and worldwide with historic urban areas and outstanding cultural heritage values. These areas are often highly contested arenas of diverse and partly conflicting interests and development ideas, which challenge the safeguarding of the cultural heritage. A non-balanced handling of the conflicts can lead to a loss of cultural heritage and identity or economic stagnancy and non-competitive areas with low amenity values.
Therefore, the challenge of historic urban areas is to match their inherited urban structure, identity and buildings with the manifold demands of residents, visitors and businesses. The goal is to capitalise on the cultural heritage for attractive and liveable cities with mixed-use historic urban areas keeping up quality of life of residents and visitors, the identity of the place and safeguarding the cultural heritage for present and future generations. The motto is: Traditional, uncoordinated mono-sectoral approaches are not adequate to that. There is the strong need for an integrated management approach which links the safeguarding of the cultural heritage with the sustainable development of historic urban areas (heritage-led urban development as cross-sectional task).
In this context, the URBACT II thematic network HerO has developed an innovative management strategy supporting an integrated, sustainable development of historic urban areas, strengthening their attractiveness and competitiveness by capitalising on cultural heritage assets. Based on the exchange of experience through a series of seminars and two expert
workshops and on case studies of the network partners the instrument of an Integrated Cultural Heritage Management Plan was developed and tested in support of the new approach to the management of historic urban areas.
This guidebook provides guidance for city administrations and practitioners on how to apply this new approach by producing an Integrated Cultural Heritage Management Plan. It describes the main characteristics of such a plan and presents the main steps for its production in support of safeguarding and capitalising cultural heritage for a sustainable urban development.
The Road to Success - Integrated Management of Historic Towns
Policy Recommedations
The HerO Policy Recommendations illustrate to politicians and decision makers the HerO approach of developing Integrated Cultural Heritage Management Plans. It highlights the benefits and the opportunities of elaborating Integrated Cultural Heritage Management Plans that cities can explore following this approach.
HerO Newsletter
The HerO Newsletter provides up-to-date information on the latest project meetings, recent events and publications.
HerO Newsletter, Issue August 2010
HerO Newsletter, Issue October 2010
HerO Newsletter, Christmas Issue 2010
HerO Newsletter, Issue March 2011
Publications on the HerO network
The HerO project flyer as well as the more comprehensive project brochure summarizing the network's exchange and learning activities and introducing the HerO partner cities are now available for download.
The HerO Brochure is also available in German and Romanian language.
Architect and Planner Dennis Rodwell (www.dennisrodwell.co.uk) who was invited to give a keynote speech on the 'visual integrity of historic urban landscapes' at the HerO Expert Workshop in Vilnius in May 2010 wrote an article on the conference and the HerO network activities which has been published in Context, the journal of the (UK) Institute of Historic Building Conservation.
(This article from Context magazine is reproduced with the kind permission of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation.)
Together with the URBACT II network "CityRegion.Net" the HerO project is presented in the ISG Magazin (issue 4/2009) published by the "Internationales Städteforum Graz". Texts are in English and German language.
An article on the Fast Track network "HerO - Heritage as Opportunity" has been published in the European Commission's "Regions for Economic Change" conference brochure 2009.
HerO Strategy Paper
January 2010
The HerO Good-Practice-Compilation
April 2009
The HerO Good-Practice-Compilation comprehends 18 Good-Practice Examples from the HerO Partner cities focussing especially on the topics "Protecting Visual Integrity" and "Applying Integrated Revitalisation Approaches".
The HerO Good-Practice Compilation identifies at an early stage in the project period innovative strategies and tools already applied in some partner cities to foster the dialogue on specific topics and to stimulate the exchange of experience and learning process within the network (and beyond).
The HerO Baseline Study
September 2008
In the HerO nertwork 9 towns from 9 different European countries - all featuring unique cultural heritage assets - have come together to develop innovative tools to support a sustainable, future-oriented socio-economic development of historic urban landscapes.
The HerO Baseline Study gives an overview of the partner's main challenges and their experiences in regards to the sustainable management of their historic city centres. It aims to facilitate the exchange of experiences within the network and beyond. The Baseline Study aims to support the HerO partners in setting up their URBACT Local Support Groups (LSG) and in involving their local key stakeholders. It illustrates the partners’ local needs and their expectations towards the HerO exchange activities. Therewith, the Baseline Study forms the basis for the HerO project work and the network's topics for the future exchange activities.
For the elaboration of the Baseline Study following methods have been applied:
• Questionnaires to gain an overview of the partners’ current situation and needs.
• City visits to "physically" explore the local cultural heritage assets of each HerO partner city and to talk to local stakeholders in order to get a better understanding of the partner situation, needs and challenges.
• Workshops with all HerO partner cities to discuss the network's work programme and the topics for the future exchange activities.