Value in the View

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.