ABSTRACT
In Malaysia, the declaration of Melaka and George Town as UNESCO World Heritage sites in 2008 ushered in an acceptance of heritage conservation as an important national policy. Despite this there are still major challenges and issues in dealing with the conservation of historic urban centres in Malaysia. The first is the lack of understanding among the stakeholders of the nature of the urban heritage. Urban heritage is a composite of profoundly complex networks of interrelationships between tangible and intangible components of the urban environment that have manifested over many years from gradual intercessions of human activities through their endemic cultures and lifestyles. Due to this strong symbiotic relationship between the physical fabric and intangible cultural dimensions, urban heritage should be viewed as a whole entity. The key to achieving successful urban conservation lies in understanding the appropriate approaches towards tackling this complexity of issues in a ‘living historic city’ like Melaka.
