Urban UNESCO World Heritage sites are living places, where heritage not only acts as a formal backdrop, but must play an active and useful role in the everyday life of local people. Running the risk of becoming mothballed ‘museum pieces’, such sites are often perceived as centres of polarization in a war between ‘the old’ and ‘the new’.

In this masterclass, James White will explore the complexities and potentialities of urban UNESCO World Heritage sites through the lens of ‘authenticity’. White will argue that urban UNESCO World Heritage sites have the potential to become the creative laboratories of a sustainable future: drawing lessons and inspiration from the past, making the most of a renewed passion for their complex and multilayered histories, while allowing this knowledge to inform future evolutions and urban interventions.