Silvia Saccomani

Leading the inclusive city. Place-based innovation for a bounded planet , by Robin Hambleton, Bristol, Policy Press at the University of Bristol, 2014, 416 pp., £ 24.99 (Paperback), ISBN 9781447304968, £ 70.00 (Hardback), ISBN 9781447304975

industrial heritage; these include debates around authenticity and intrinsic value when the built forms of the industrial past are populated with new non-industrial functions, aesthetic debates around what is worth preserving and bringing forth to the public eye, and criticisms of gentrification brought about by successful industrial heritage transformations. Thereby, the case studies place heritage in the midst of other social-cultural, physical, and economic changes in the city and jointly provide a rich array of experiences to draw lessons from. Narratives of the industrial past are regularly juxtaposed against those of the present city and, one may argue, its potential futures. Indeed, Reichen, who contributes the architect’s perspective on industrial heritage sites, fittingly states that areas of industrial heritage – by their multipurpose and easy to appropriate nature – serve as connectors between the old city center and the city of the future. The concluding chapter explores selected themes in industrial heritage recognition and conservation and invites insights from an expert panel on the practices of transforming industrial heritage sites. The themes chosen for questioning reflect some of the issues arising within the chapters. However, while this generic discussion allows some links to be drawn between policy and practice, this chapter does little to critique or synthesize the experiences from the previous sections. Neither does it fully encompass the three perspectives presented by the editors earlier, or make a genuine attempt to answer the original question of what common ground is shared by these discourses. The reader might find the loss of focus here to be somewhat awkward in that it leaves one hanging for a conclusion. In summary, by presenting a rich collection of case studies, this book deals with the difficult topic of industrial heritage sites in a tactile manner. Importantly, it goes beyond deliberations into architectural interventions to illustrate, often vividly, the diverse social agents, discourses, and values involved when dealing with industrial heritage. By illustrating many of the specific concerns within such sites, it subtly distinguishes industrial heritage sites from other heritage sites in transformation. The straightforward language makes for easy reading and the few photos are aptly chosen and placed. While the lack of a conclusion is somewhat disturbing, the structure of the book makes this one to pick up for anyone interested in historic industrial sites, historic preservation or conservation, urban renewal, urban planning, or heritage planning.