Requalifying the Built Environment

How global change is impacting on the social, physical, and economic structure of cities and their inhabitants In recent decades significant financial and professional resources have been invested in urban regeneration, housing renovation, and the revitalization of old neighborhoods, with considerable impacts on the social, physical, and economic structure of cities and their inhabitants. The first objective of this volume is to present the key issues related to these changes, which were discussed at an international symposium of experts organized by the International Association for People-Environment Studies and CSBE Networks in Istanbul. The second objective is to show how concepts and methods in the field of people-environment studies can be successfully applied to study complex questions related to the revitalization of the built environment, both at the small scale of specific buildings and at the larger scale of neighborhoods. The contributions in this volume are centered around the following main themes: Key issues concerning heritage and cultural identity The institutional, economic, and political contexts of revitalization Implementation and how to address the key challenges This volume will be useful to researchers, graduate students, teachers, and professional practitioners in housing design and construction, the maintenance and upgrading of existing buildings and urban areas, conservation management, and the broad field of housing studies. The book is pertinent to people trained in environmental psychology, social policy studies, architecture, urban design, urban sociology, human geography, and building and landscape conservation.