The development of conservation management for a pre-industrial North African city: the case of the medina of Tunis

Abstract

The thesis deals with the development of policies and planning instruments for the conservation of the built fabric of the Medina (Old City) of Tunis, North Africa. Part I looks at the type of city which the Medina represents, namely a pre-industrial urban fabric influenced by Islam; the discussion rejects the notion of Islamic city' per se, but examines the extent of/Islamic influence on the built form of the city. Part II traces the history and development of the Medina, and hence how the city survived the upheavals of the XIXth century to remain as an example of a pre-industrial city worthy of conservation. Part III traces the development of concepts of heritage conservation in Tunisia with particular reference to the medinas. It then outlines the development of the legal and institutional framework for the protection of the Medina, before moving on to discuss the management of the Medina as heritage in the 1980s. The conclusion suggests that the Medina may be surviving despite conservation management. The difficulties in implementing heritage policy may be related to the nature of the Tunisian state and and its use of urban policies as a state legitimating device and this would seem to be a promising direction for future research.