An-Najah Staff

 There is a growing recognition that cultural and natural heritage and its conservation is a shared responsibility of all levels of government, proponents, and members of a community. We are now gradually moving away from simply making an inventory of heritage resources, to an integrated and interlinked approach to heritage management. Heritage is more than a record of the past – it is becoming an integral part of the urban identity now, and for the future. Conserving this precious and ancient heritage has been a challenge to both governments as well as the civil society at large. This is particularly true for city governments that are in “direct contact” with the manifestations of heritage at the local level.  It is important, therefore, to place the issues of heritage conservation within the overall process of urban development, as well as interlink it with other issues such as tourism development, revitalization of the local economy and local governance. In responding to pressures for the future, inherent in its development pressures, economic conditions, and drive for modernization, it is vital not only to protect tourism resources, but also to promote community development that focuses on cultural landscapes.  The resources of Palestine including both natural (landscape and agricultural land) and  man-made (cultural or built heritage in terms of individual buildings of historic or architectural interest, historic towns of many cities, the separate cultural and spatial identity of the villages, and archaeological remains of great number and variety) features are of great beauty and distinction. However, all of these features are under threat due to the long period of occupation and the absence of proper planning policies at the national, regional and local levels. In addition, they could be threatened by the future development of both urban and rural settlements.  This, as a result would emphasize the significance of physical planning as a tool for dealing with all the above mentioned issues both to present solution for the continuous  urban growth and development and to offer policies and strategies for the conservation and renewal of the old and historic areas. In addition, this would also emphasize the urgent need for dealing with the resulted damage during the last two years in terms of emergency planning and post-war reconstruction and planning.