ABSTRACT
Although Articles 33-36 of the Cultural Heritage Conservation Act stipulate the definition of a conservation area and regulate its development, the topic of conservation areas is complicated, and thus current legal regulations continue not to satisfy the demands of developing conservation areas. Therefore, relevant examples of conservation areas in Taiwan are scant, and no concrete achievements serve as a reference for communities in the Taiwanese society. Neither are there legal regulations that can be followed in developing a conservation area, thereby creating a predicament where the management of conservation areas focuses on tangible but not intangible assets. Future development of conservation areas should first focus on preserving intangible assets and on elevating the Quality Of Life (QOL) of local residents. In addition to preserving tangible and intangible cultural assets, the following should be incorporated into future development projects: (1) integration of the techniques required for meeting demands of daily living and (2) safety and disaster prevention projects that are critical to residents’ lives and property safety. Establishing the parameters of cultural tourism for providing local cultural tourism resources can further the application of cultural resources and the development of cultural tourism, thus enabling culture to serve as a basis for elevating the cultural and economic value and local economic competitiveness of the conservation areas.
