ABSTRACT
The UNESCO Policy on the integration of a sustainable development perspective into the processes of the World Heritage Convention (henceforth policy on World Heritage and Sustainable Development) represents a milestone in the implementation of this convention (UNESCO 2015). This chapter aims to chart these different theories and approaches related to culture, heritage and (sustainable) development, particularly those adopted at the level of the UN and UNESCO. It considers the concept of development at international and national levels, from the 1940s onwards. The chapter focuses on understanding how development is seen as progress, as opposed to the concept of heritage, which is often understood in terms of the past and traditions. It presents the paradigmatic shift started in the 1970s as a reaction to the models of development and growth. The chapter explains the increasing references to culture and heritage as a transversal and cross-cutting theme that affects all dimensions of development.
