Collaborative urban design for stakeholder engagement in World Cultural Heritage conservation: a practical study in the context of the citadel wall in Huế, Vietnam

There are significant challenges for stakeholder engagement in World Cultural Heritage Conservation (WCHC). This study focussed on the interdisciplinary and practice-based investigation of collaborative urban design (CUD) as an approach to identify and respond to those challenges. The research explored challenges caused by mutability and tensions in WCHC stakeholder engagement theory and practice, as well as the influence of site-specific contextual factors on engagement, by looking at several different heritage contexts but focussing on Huế in Vietnam. More specifically, the research highlighted the particular challenges that arise when WCHC-related development restrictions cause the displacement of people from World Heritage sites. The methods of investigation included literature review, interviews with experts and an infield, practice-based CUD investigation in the context of the World Heritage listed citadel wall of Huế in Vietnam. The fieldwork involved living in Huế from October 2012 to June 2013, learning the local language and establishing a social network there, conducting urban site analyses, conversing and collaborating with stakeholders of WCHC, and collaboratively developing and facilitating four CUD workshops. The thesis presents original findings about the effects of WCHC as experienced by stakeholders of the citadel wall in Huế. It hypothesises that CUD may be a useful approach for engaging with stakeholders of WCHC based on findings from the practical investigation in Huế. Significantly, it focusses on the learning and value embodied in the CUD process itself, rather than on a particular outcome of the research.