Reframing Historic City Conservation through Urban Resilience Strategies: The Case of the Old City of Sana'a

This study examines the role of urban resilience strategies in the conservation of historic cities and aims to develop a strategic framework that holistically addresses the risks these cities face, their resilience capacities, adaptive abilities, and interventions that can support their recovery and renewal processes. The study is based on the premise that historic cities are not merely static entities to be preserved but living urban systems that require the continuous management of transformation while maintaining their authenticity, integrity, and cultural identity. To integrate the concepts of historic cities as living urban systems, living heritage, urban resilience, and transformation management, the research adopts a methodology based on an extensive literature review and conceptual synthesis. Accordingly, a strategic framework has been developed that organizes resilience strategies into four interrelated dimensions: environmental, physical, socio-economic, and institutional. To demonstrate the applicability of this framework, the Old City of Sana’a, a living historic city of Outstanding Universal Value, was selected as the case study. The findings indicate that the effective conservation of historic cities requires approaches that go beyond conventional preservation and restoration practices, integrating climate change adaptation, risk management, urban conservation, and sustainable development into a comprehensive strategy. The principal contribution of the study is its reconceptualization of the relationship between urban resilience and urban conservation through the lens of transformation management, while proposing a flexible and adaptable strategic framework that can be applied to other historic cities facing similar risks and transformation pressures. This framework offers a holistic approach that enables historic cities to safeguard their cultural heritage values while adapting to changing environmental, social, and governance conditions.