Urbanism and Cultural Preservation in the Face of Technology
Urbanism and cultural preservation seem to be opposed in their very principle. Urbanism pushes for the development of the cities, city planning and continuous innovation of a place for the physical needs of the society. 1 On the other hand, cultural preservation aims to preserve the culture, language, history, ancestral lands and other sacred sites of a place. 2 But if there is anything we learned about modern times, it’s that modern technology is a useful tool we can use to solve the problems we continuously face on a daily basis. This conflict of the cultures can be solved through the use of the internet.
The International Council on Monuments and Sites, more popularly known as ICOMOS, is an open archive on the web that contains 1244 deposited items. 3 The archive is open to anyone in the community. The ICOMOS archive is developed by UNESCO and lists down relevant information about our favorite cultural site. It aims “to gather, study and disseminate information concerning principles, techniques and policies for the conservation, protection, rehabilitation and enhancement of monuments, groups of buildings and sites” 4 But this repository is not the only online resource where people can learn more about a cultural landmark, or other sites. In a world of Facebook and Instagram, organizations that aim to preserve the heritage in any way they can, open resources are fastly becoming a way to raise awareness of our rich culture.
As we continue to move towards the urbanisation of the country, it is still our responsibility as citizens to ensure the preservation of our rich heritage. That is why websites such as Wikipedia, Ancestry.com, AdventuresinPreservation.org, Wikihow and more are an aid to ensuring the younger generation does not forget the past. Wikipedia and Wikihow is a gold mine of information about different things under the sun, from the World Wars to famous architects to the building of famous landmarks from different parts of the world. Then there is Ancestry.com which enlightens our minds to our own ancestry and the amazing new discoveries that come with it.
The past is something that is a part of who we are as a human race as is the old buildings, and museums and landmarks. It is where traditions and customs were born that helped led us into the society we live in today. Mankind may be searching for the future, but it is through the past that we can find out more about what lies ahead. And the best way to do that is to have open archives of vital information of the past architectural landmarks and culture in general.
Reference and resources:
1 “Urbanism” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbanism
2 “Cultural Preservation” http://www.delawarenation.com/Departments/CulturalPreservation/tabid/59/Default.aspx
3 “Welcome to the ICOMOS Open Archive: EPrints on Cultural Heritage” http://openarchive.icomos.org/
4 “About the Repository” http://openarchive.icomos.org/information.html