Nektaria Mathioudaki, "Model design study, of the historic center, of the city of Heidelberg", Master Thesis, School of Architecture, Technical University of Crete, Chania, Greece, 2021
https://doi.org/10.26233/heallink.tuc.88593
The present study concerns the design of the historic center of Heidelberg, with the main goal being its sustainable development. The historic center’s cultural heritage, in all its forms (material and intangible), will be protected and highlighted, as it is a key component of cohesion and development of a city. The emergence and solution of its modern problems, will enhance its sustainable mobility and re-inhabitation, which has been declining to a great extent in recent years.For the validation and the appropriate application of this study, interventions and projects, that have been successfully implemented in other historical centers, will be used as model-guides, in addition to the principles from the basic documentation of city planning. Such prominent examples, are the Charter of Athens (1933), which first points out the protection of the historical heritage-monument, the Charter of Venice (1964), which expanded the meaning of the monument, by redefining it as something wider and larger than an architectural creation, as it includes the urban or rural landscape that surrounds it. Also, we can find the Granada Convention (1985), the International Charter for the Protection of Historic Cities (1987) e.t.c., as well as certain conventions, such as the Maastricht Convention (1992), which being European, and gives the right to the E.U. to take actions towards the preservation and dissemination of culture in its territory. Finally, there are more modern principles, such as those of the revised Charter of Cultural Tourism (1999), the new Charter of Athens (2003), which recognizes sustainable development as a key goal of spatial and urban planning and the principles of Valletta, for the protection and the management of historic cities, settlements and urban areas, as adopted by the ICOMOS General Assembly, in 2011.The study is divided into six sub-chapters, which concern the historical background of the old city, the creation of the center and its current state, the modern boundaries with its composition and structures, the problems and the regulatory plans with the studies of their solution, a SWOT analysis to highlight its strengths and prospects, as well as the goals with proposals and interventions, which will enable it to cope with current and future needs and requirements.Finally, the relevant international literature and the internet, were used for the elaboration of the study, while certain difficulties surfaced gathering information and data. Despite that, the study identifies the problems (satisfactorily) and proposes the corresponding solutions, that will direct the historic center towards sustainable development, which is the main goal of this research.