This Rutgers University conference will be held at The Heldrich Hotel in New Brunswick, New Jersey, November 12-14, 2015.
Urbanization is the defining phenomenon of 21st century. For the first time in history, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities, an amount that is expected to rise to nearly 70 percent by 2050, with the highest percentage of growth occurring in Asia and Africa. Not only does this growth profoundly affect the physical environment, but it also reveals the rapidly shifting nature of urban populations. The density and diversity of urban encounters and interactions can generate incredible creativity as well as conflict. Within this multidimensional environment, urban heritage can be as dynamic as the city’s population.
This international conference, SHIFTING CITIES: Urban Heritage in the 21st Century, will look specifically at the phenomenon of shifting populations and its effect on urban heritage. Hosted by Rutgers University Program in Cultural Heritage and Preservation Studies (CHAPS), this conference will bring together leading scholars and practitioners from around the world to address the complex and interconnected challenges facing cities and their populations.
The overarching goal is to identify new approaches towards working effectively with diverse and dynamic populations as part of current efforts to rethink the meaning and practice of heritage conservation within the “shifting cities” that define urbanism in the 21st century.