ABSTRACT
To examine urban design as a tool in urban conservation, this chapter starts by exploring the scope and value of urban conservation. In planning for heritage conservation, heritage is defined as a cultural resource and public space as an object of urban culture where symbolic attributes and community engagement shape mechanisms for public space management. Urban design is therefore a key means to achieve urban conservation ends, but conservation is also a key objective of urban design. By positioning the public realm as the interface where heritage meets urban design, it is possible to envisage a research agenda that will advance these closely related, yet also strongly independent, disciplines.
