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Cities of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: Why Heritage Matters

Get an introduction to what heritage preservation is, and why it's important to you and your local community.

4,168 enrolled on this course

Old building facade reflection in modern building glass facade.
  • Duration

    2 weeks
  • Weekly study

    3 hours

Understand the past through heritage preservation

We are able to make sense of who we are and the world around us because of our past. Find out why heritage preservation is so important to us all, with this course from Griffith University.

You’ll get an introduction to the value of heritage within built environmental contexts, and find out about the globally accepted heritage guidelines.

You’ll analyse heritage case studies from across the world and recognise the impact on local communities. You’ll develop a knowledge of community values and rights, and learn how to get involved with heritage preservation and conservation.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 13 seconds What do all of these places have in common? They represent our cultural heritage through the surroundings that we’ve created. Is heritage important? Can we live without it? It’s from our heritage that we establish our identity, who we are, and how we make sense of the world. Our heritage inspires us to be creative. It shapes our lives and our communities. The High Line project is just one example of this. The New York community banded together to transform a derelict old railway track to create a new green space above the west side of Manhattan. The residents preserved their heritage and met the needs of a modern community.

Skip to 1 minute and 6 seconds Join us in the course as we explore examples in your country and many others with experts from Griffith University, drawing on cutting edge environmental and urban research to create sustainable solutions for a growing global population. Hello. I am Karine Dupre. I have been an architect, planner, and researcher over 20 years now. I have been involved in the evaluation of building heritage and building districts, the adaptive reuse of building heritage and the identification, planning, and management of heritage for tourism purposes. I am passionate about the built heritage, as to me, it speaks about our roots. I’m also very convinced that we need to preserve heritage to pass it on to the next generation. Hi. I’m Caryl Bosman.

Skip to 2 minutes and 2 seconds And I’ve taught in both architecture and planning programmes. And I’ve worked as an architect in London, South Africa, and in Australia. Amongst one of my roles, I was a heritage advisor. I’m passionate about teaching people about our built heritage, because I believe it is our built heritage that is our link to the past and it also informs our future. In this course, we’ll delve into why heritage conservation matters by revealing the social value of heritage within built environment contexts. We’ll do this through investigating strategies for heritage assessment and conservation, analysing heritage case studies, and considering both global and local perspectives. Join us as we answer the question, “Can we live without heritage?”

What topics will you cover?

  • Definitions of heritage in different built environment contexts
  • Globally adopted heritage frameworks and guidelines
  • Global case studies of different heritage challenges across different scales and how this impacts on local and global communities
  • Recognising and acknowledging community values in policy and practice
  • Levels of engagement and different career opportunities in heritage studies, preservation and conservation
  • Prompts to pathways to find out more about getting involved

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Explain the meaning of heritage and its value.
  • Discuss the guidelines and frameworks that apply to heritage in your local area.
  • Evaluate the impact of changes, at all scales, to the built environment, on local and global communities.
  • Investigate options for future engagement and career opportunities with heritage studies.

Who is the course for?

This course is aimed at anyone interested in heritage preservation and conservation, on a local and global scale.

Who will you learn with?

I am a registered Architect and a practising academic, holding one PhD in Urban Planning and another in Contemporary History. Working at Griffith University, my research focuses on Cities and Tourism.

I am an Associate Professor teaching Urban and Environmental Planning at Griffith University Gold Coast campus. I have worked in architectural practices and as a heritage consultant.

Who developed the course?

Griffith University

Griffith University was created to be a different kind of university—challenging conventions, responding to trends and pioneering solutions through innovative teaching and research.

  • Established

    1971
  • Location

    Queensland, Australia
  • World ranking

    Top 210Source: Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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