Regarding UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (UNESCO, 2003), the “intangible cultural heritage” means the practices, linguistic expressions, traditional craftsmanship, and so on that communities and in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural identity and transmits via generations respecting cultural diversity and human creativity. Hence, legislator arranged the following as intangible cultural heritage:

1. Oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage;

2. Performing arts;

3. Social practices, rituals and festive events;

4. Knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe;

5. Traditional craftsmanship.

Architectural heritage is a term which scholar usually called on buildings that were constructed due to the interaction between the human being and the surrounding environment, whatever its type, to be subjected to the social, economic, cultural, and climatic factors. In October 1999, International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) asserted, through “Charter on the Built Vernacular Heritage”, that

The built vernacular heritage is a focus of contemporary life and at the same time a record of the history of society. It is the fundamental expression of the culture of a community, of its relationship with its territory and, at the same time, the expression of the world's cultural diversity. Vernacular building is the traditional and natural way by which communities house themselves. It is a continuing process including necessary changes and continuous adaptation as a response to social and environmental constraints. (ICOMOS, 1999b)

​So, we can understand that architectural heritage can add a variety to the urban context within the city. It proves the local or individual requirements as a main part of common memory. Architectural heritage represents specific values for the human beings. Consequently, the conservation of architectural heritage is very significant progress to protect our cultural identity, and memories. It is considered as a covenant preserving our authentic history.

As seen within our modern community, modernization perspective has high impact on the cultural heritage. This perspective is associated with the economic development making great changes in the cultural identity of the local community. So, the local community is automatically pushed for satisfying its economic and social requirements (needs and wants). By the way, this style of thinking is mainly contributed to loss our cultural heritage and subsequently, our local identity.

References:

• Baram, U. (2014). Marketing Heritage. In C. Smith (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology (pp. 4673 – 4679).

• ICOMOS. The Bura Charter, The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance, Guidelines and Code on the Ethics of Co-existence (1999). Retrieved from http://australia.icomos.org/wp-content/uploads/BURRA_CHARTER.pdf

• ICOMOS. (1999b, October). Charter on The Built Vernacular Heritage (1999) [Organization]. Retrieved September 3, 2016, from http://www.icomos.org/charters/vernacular_e.pdf

• Smith, L. (2006). The Uses of Heritage. London and New York: Routledge.

• Smith, L. (2015). Theorizing Museum and Heritage Visiting. In A. Witcomb & K. Message (Eds.), The International Handbooks of Museum Studies: Museum Theory (1st ed., Vol. 1). Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

• UNESCO. Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003). Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001325/132540e.pdf

• UNESCO. (2013). Operational Guideline for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention [Organization]. Retrieved August 11, 2015, from http://whc.unesco.org/archive/opguide13-en.pdf

• UNESCO. (2014, April 16). Irina Bokova: Culture and Heritage are Powerful Tools for Dialogue and Social Cohesion [Organization]. Retrieved October 3, 2016, from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/member-states/single-view/news/irina_bokova_culture_and_heritage_are_powerful_tools_for_dialogue_and_social_cohesion/#.VUi1ko6qpBc

• UNESCO World Heritage Centre. (n.d.). The Criteria for Selection [Organization]. Retrieved October 3, 2016, from http://whc.unesco.org/en/criteria/