Cultural Heritage Lost: Case Study of Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

This research examines the natural and man-made hazards such as the case of urban development, nature, and legislation in the city of Isfahan in Iran. The goals are to show how cultural heritage is at risk of extinction, what the causes are, and how to find and offer solutions. Similar cases and previously studied have been conducted but although these studies all concluded how to use CH as a source of income from attracting tourism, and therefore, there were few details on all kinds of threats to our cultural heritage at once in recent years. On the other hand, the unsustainable progress alongside economic breakdown caused by international sanctions created a budget crisis which leads that has caused the Cultural Heritage Organization to not receive adequate funding. The study was designed as a single-case, qualitative method in which data were gathered through in-depth interviews and discussions with randomly chosen local residents, active heritage experts, and managers in the field of heritage preservation and urban planning. Isfahan has been chosen as a representative example of a metropolis with a variety of heritage participation projects. Although solving budget problems requires experts in this field so that we can maintain our CH sites, learning from the traditional art of the past and rethinking the concept of urban development management is essential to end the crisis of destruction of cultural heritage.