Glasgow City Heritage Trust, in collaboration with Architecture and Design Scotland and The Lighthouse ran a Commonwealth Lecture Series in 2014. Speakers travelled from various countries to speak at the series, which primarily focussed on Place-making and Sustainability.

Elene Negussie, PhD, is an urban geographer, consultant and lecturer in cultural heritage for the World Heritage Programme at University College Dublin and Board Member of the ICOMOS International Committee on Historic Towns and Villages. She is co-author of a forthcoming book ‘World Heritage Conservation: The World Heritage Convention, Linking Culture and Nature for Sustainable Development’.

The World Heritage Convention in its aim of safeguarding the cultural and natural heritage of humanity has provided opportunities for the enhancement of integrated conservation and holistic perspectives on the conservation of cities. This presentation firstly discusses the concept of sustainability and recent developments on the integration of culture as a fourth pillar in the sustainable development model. Secondly, it explores the usefulness of the Historic Urban Landscape approach as a tool for achieving holistic conservation and sustainability in urban environments, drawing on recent city examples.