Francesco Bandarin (Venice, Italy, 1950) is an Architect and Planner specialised in urban conservation. From 2000 to 2010 he was Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and from 2010 to 2018 he served as Assistant Director-General of UNESCO for Culture. He is Special Advisor to ICCROM, Member of the Advisory Committee of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and Founding Member of OurWorldHeritage. He teaches at SciencesPo in Paris and advises governments and heritage conservation projects internationally.

Introduction; Part 1. Heritage in modern society -1.1. A New world; 1.2. A Modern construct; 1.3. Contemporary frameworks; 1.4. Meanings and values; 1.5. Successes and failures; Part 2. Internal tensions - 2.1. Which history, whose heritage; 2.2. Universalism and its discontents; 2.3. Two false dichotomies; 2.4. The Landscape nexus; 2.5. Good and bad heritage; 2.6. Colonial and post-colonial worlds; 2.7. Human rights and gender; 2.8. Evolving authenticities; 2.9. The Interpretation quandary; 2.10. Advancing multiplicity; Intermezzo: The Power of technology; Part 3. External pressures - 3.1. A Global arena; 3.2. Development's ambivalence; 3.3. An Expanding galaxy; 3.4. A Matter of scale; 3.5. The Rise of the historic city; 3.6. The Tourism predicament; 3.7. Gentrification takes command; 3.8. The Force of the sacred; 3.9. Threats old and new; 3.10. Soaring conflicts; Part 4. Looking forward - 4.1. Unpacking heritage; 4.2. Managing change; 4.3. Political hurdles; 4.4. Partners in conservation; 4.5. Civil society; Epilogue; Further Readings; Index.