Cultural Heritage – Urban Dynamics Zanzibar, Bagamoyo, Dar Es Salaam by Sauda Simba

PART 1 (Covered by Uli Malisius. )
The challenge of urban heritage in a changing society

What is the basis for regulations about conservation on the international scene? Zanzibar has had its shares of journey down the conservation trip. It is one of the unique conservation areas because of its natural harbor and of course its history. In 2000, Stone Town was officially inscribed in the World Heritage list of UNESCO. Many parts of stone town such as Harumizi had periods when there were many significant buildings that collapsed over a short time, of which very few have been restored.

Beyond just buildings there is also, art and crafts which are part of heritage. Areas such as Gizenga are home to many of the crafts and wood carvers of Zanzibar. Most of this talent has been re-ignited since it was noticed that the talents still existed and only needed an uplift. Recently, the Maasai have started flooding Stone Town with their own crafts and services because of Zanzibar’s boom in the economy. These masaais’ are taking over most of the craft scene. The question is, “Is this a problem or not?”