Research & Article

The concept of conservation and development of the present-day cities was developed under the controversy of the Western world and Thai context. Since the Charter for the Conservation of Historic Towns and Urban Areas or Washington Charter had been adopted by ICOMOS in 1987 after the World Heritage Convention had been issued in 1972. The balance of the development and protection of cultural resources is a core idea to drive sustainable development under Agenda 21. One example from the Conservation and Urban Sustainable Development: A Theoretical Framework Conference in Brazil emphasized on the issue of Integrated Conservation. However, cities have dynamic development which forces the historic cities to face new constructions and contemporary architecture. The ICOMOS’s International Committee on Historic Towns and Villages adopted the Vienna Memorandum on Historic Urban Landscape in 2005 to promote the idea of historic urban landscape as well as the Valletta Principles for the Safeguarding and Management of Historic Cities, Towns and Urban Areas in 2011 which encourage the co-existence of tangible and intangible aspects in the diversity of the historic cities to establish a better change and intervention within historic values. The Historic Town of Nakhon Si Thammarat periodically developed and layering different meaning which expresses cultural identity until present days along with the everyday life of people and the vibrancy districts in the town and urban. Question would be raised on the ordinary of everyday landscape which balancing the development, conservation and daily practice of people in order to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).