COMMUNITY CO-CREATION IN LIVING HERITAGE CONSERVATION – FROM OBJECT-CENTERED TO PEOPLE-CENTERED PLANNING FOR THE ANCIENT CITY OF PINGYAO

Abstract. Since the conservation of living heritage sites such as historic towns and traditional villages often involves the coordination of multiple interests, the modern socio-economic development of heritage sites and the dominant participatory nature of local heritage communities become the main conflicts in practice. Using a combination of literature research and field cases, this paper firstly compares the history of the theoretical conservation approach to living heritage and explains its core concepts and basic methods. Secondly, it analyses the application and effectiveness of the community co-creation model in living heritage sites using the case of the ancient city of Pingyao in Shanxi Province, China. It is hoped that this will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the current development and future direction of heritage conservation methods, and further consider how to reconcile the historical and daily values of heritage in the conservation process.