Home Issues 49 I. Articles Architectural Conservation in Rap Dar es Salaam city is changing structurally by replacement of old building with new. Thus, the city is facing challenge on conservation of built heritage due to demolition of historic building and the area surrounding historic monument. Historic building are demolished to pave way for construction of new building for housing and office spaces to meet the free market economy demand.
According to the existing legislations, buildings are protected as national monuments by listing individual building, group of buildings or conservation of area.
The aim was to protect historic and architectural values of the area. Eighteen years 18 after declaration of conservation area, it is observed that there is increasing demolition of historic building and construction of new building which does not match with existing historic townscape and context. It is observed that, designation of a consevation area has been ineffective, because there is weakness in legislations and institutional framework for management of the conservation area.
It is recommended that, national authorities should harmonize national policies and legislations and strengthen institutional linkages for heritage conservation and management. As the field has evolved, it has become clear that, although there may be some inherent value s in such places, such approaches must be coupled with integrated strategies for managing the built environment as a whole and with participatory processes that engage communities and stakeholders in decision-making about their heritage.
Thus, conservation of historic towns is not simply an end in and of itself, but rather a tool among many to steward cultural resources, to foster a sense of community and identity, to promote sustainability in building and construction, and to improve quality of life.
