C O N T E X T 1 2 0 : J U LY 2 0 1 1 27 JOHN HINCHLIFFE European heritage HerOes The results of the recently completed networking project HerO (Heritage as Opportunity) set out best practice in managing and conserving historic cities. methods to bring about the right balance between preserving cultural heritage and enabling sustainable development to take place. Liverpool was delighted to be selected as one of nine partner cities from over (" cities which applied because UNESCO’s world heritage committee had requested in &""% that Liverpool’s world heritage site should be used as an international case study in the management of its historic urban landscape.With its dramatic exemplars of urban regeneration, successfully integrating new buildings and rejuvenated public spaces within itsWorld Heritage townscape, Liverpool welcomed that challenge and is confident that it will be seen as an example of international best practice. The highly efficient lead partner city was Regensburg. Nils Scheffler, an urban planning consultant from Berlin, was the project’s dynamic thematic expert. The project was given further credence by the support from the European Association of HistoricTowns and Cities and the International Federation for Housing and Planning. The participating cities learnt from first-hand experience of interaction at workshops, presentations on strategies and visits to successful projects. Now all Nine historic European cities have been involved in the networking project HerO (Heritage as Opportunity) since &""$, with the objective of identifying and sharing best practice in the management and conservation of historic cities. Dennis Rodwell reported inContext !!, (September &"!") on the proceedings of the meeting in Vilnius in &"!" and the general objectives of the project and its sponsor, the EU’s URBACT Programme. The project ended in April &"!! with a final meeting in Regensburg (Germany’s biggest medieval town). Careful examination of its outputs would benefit most European cities which seek to conserve their cultural heritage and take advantage of the opportunity that it presents, while encouraging sustainable development and economic growth. The HerO network brings together nine disparate and contrasting historic cities: Liverpool; Graz, Austria; Lublin, Poland; Naples, Italy; Poitiers, France; Regensburg, Germany; Sighisoara, Romania; Valletta, Malta; and Vilnius, Lithuania. These cities joined the network because they wanted to use their cultural heritage positively in the holistic planning of their future. Involvement in HerO brings an expectation that all nine cities will develop strategies and good practice Regensburg rooftops and the River Danube seen from the cathedral tower
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