A Spatial Decision Support System for the Integration Between the UNESCO Site Management Plan and the Urban Plan

Abstract

Abstract This paper investigates the interrelationship between management planning and urban planning in UNESCO sites, with a focus on the town of Purmamarca, located in the Quebrada de Humahuaca in Jujuy, Argentina. These sites, recognized for their historical, cultural, and landscape value, face significant challenges in integrating heritage conservation regulations and urban development that lead to processes of gentrification and touristification. The main objective of this proposal is to optimize the management of built heritage through a methodology based on geodesign, developing a spatial support system that allows for the effective management and monitoring of relationships with the environmental, cultural, landscape, and territorial planning systems. This integrative perspective promotes information accessibility and encourages interdisciplinarity. The methodological core focuses on the exploration of new technologies for planning and multicriteria analysis that facilitate transparent and repeatable decision-making. With an integrated analysis, creating a robust database, identifying forces of change, evaluating future scenarios, selecting strategic projects, and verifying through systematic monitoring, the aim is to value and protect the territory, optimizing its planning and balancing heritage conservation with sustainable development. The application demonstrates how a comprehensive and accessible database, together with the technologies, could be key to the valuation and preservation of the UNESCO site. Additionally, it will enable informed and conscious decisionmaking related to urban development, avoiding increasing gentrification and tourism.