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Japan prehistoric sites added to UNESCO list as World Heritage site

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The reason why Liverpool was cancelled of its status as a world cultural heritage site is because the city planners changed the face of the UNESCO-designated area significantly for redevelopment.

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New Yorkers are more self-assured about the role their city plays in world culture.

It's not so much that, but the power of money that opposes World Heritage sites. There are massive financial and political interests that drive development, and almost no such interests driving preservation. Sometimes even good intentions (such as a mass transit system to alleviate traffic or improvements in tourist facilities) can result in a property being removed from the list.

Respect for history is fine. While UNESCO can seem to go a bit overboard at times, the World Heritage committee is really just a tiny voice in a sea of big money developments. That's why I support them. Otherwise there would be nobody to speak for preservation.

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Thanks didn't know that.

But I just looked up the criteria, and it seems still Liverpool meets more than 1 of the required criteria.

Merely meeting one of the criteria isn't enough by itself. To be designated, a site needs to meet at least one criteria AND it must be of outstanding universal value.

Liverpool was actually originally granted the status based on it meeting 3 of the criteria for inclusion:

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1150/

It still meets those criteria, but in order to meet the requirement of having outstanding universal value a site must retain its integrity and authenticity. UNESCO deemed that the re-developments have robbed the site of these qualities and thus removed it from the list of World Heritage Sites.

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New Yorkers are more self-assured about the role their city plays in world culture. The Japanese govt is attempting to register every last tsubo of land with the UN as if it has some important cultural significance. It reminds me of the interchangeable "famous local products" sold to tourists nationwide. I think they all come from the same factory in Gunma, which itself has been proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Um.....before you get too condescending about how self assured New Yorkers are in comparison to Japanese you might want to actually check to make sure that nothing in Manhattan has already been submitted to UNESCO for inscription:

https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/6234/

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UNESCO are in the same position as the IOC and play the same game. Corruption is rife. 

Not true. You would have to bribe all members of a committee, and most of those people are academics who take their work very seriously.

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Please, enough of these UNESCO articles. Is this really a big deal?

For me, UNESCO lost its final bit of credibility when it took the city of Liverpool off its list.

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I think Manhattan, New York City's skyscrapers can be a world cultural heritage en masse due to their trailblazing design and engineering in high-rise architecture.

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rainydayJuly 28  11:24 am JST

Merely meeting one of the criteria isn't enough by itself. To be designated, a site needs to meet at least one criteria AND it must be of outstanding universal value. 

Liverpool was actually originally granted the status based on it meeting 3 of the criteria for inclusion:

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1150/ 

It still meets those criteria, but in order to meet the requirement of having outstanding universal value a site must retain its integrity and authenticity. UNESCO deemed that the re-developments have robbed the site of these qualities and thus removed it from the list of World Heritage Sites.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

UNESCO are in the same position as the IOC and play the same game. Corruption is rife. When I hear of a UNESCO site. I wonder how much it cost for the bribe. The G B Reef has come under UNESCO ruling last month of taken of their list. Then a miracle happened and the reef was given a 12 months to prove it should stay on the list. I wondered how much it cost for the bribe. I also realise that UNESCO have gone into a new why of bribe payment system of 12 months payments.

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voiceofokinawaToday  08:10 am JST

The reason why Liverpool was cancelled of its status as a world cultural heritage site is because the city planners changed the face of the UNESCO-designated area significantly for redevelopment.

Thanks didn't know that.

But I just looked up the criteria, and it seems still Liverpool meets more than 1 of the required criteria.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

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