My project is an attempt to understand historic conservation practices from a planning standpoint in the Netherlands and particularly the city of Groningen. I focus on policy framework, institutional goals and practices and their consequences on the urban built environment keeping in mind the planning issues of place identity, cultural capital and functional cities. I address the viability and sustenance of the field in the face of rapid development and change, and in so doing reassess possibilities of success in preserving the historic built environment.
