Mots-clés
conservation of natural heritage / management / development projects / environmental planning / sustainable development / regional level / conservation of historic sites / natural sites / economic impact / economic value / methodologies of evaluation / environmental impact / mixed properties / historic sites
Résumé en anglais
A dialogue with those who intend to develop a site is always challenging. As heritage curators, we must often give advice that developers may not want to hear because it might interfere with the realization of a project. In our work as environmental planners at WSP, we have experienced that it is difficult but of utmost importance to create an open dialogue with those involved in the development of sensitive cultural heritage areas at a regional level. However, we have realized that theory and practice do not always go hand in hand. In this paper, we will take a closer look at two recent projects in which we carried out a cultural and historical assessment and, also, an environmental impact assessment (cultural and historical as well as environmental impact assessments). In both, the team aimed to maintain a dynamic and functional relationship between the existing heritage and the planned future development of the areas. We will see how the outcome of both projects call for a re-examination of the importance of our preliminary assessments.