The institutionalization of heritage values in the sociotechnical planning paradigm: The increasing salience of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Macao from relational and discursive perspectives

The institutionalization of heritage-mediated cultural significance is a struggle that has unfolded unevenly and, at times, through contentious implementation. Given this situation, this study draws on the historic urban landscape and sociotechnical approaches to urban governance, which are interwoven with each other, and investigates the role of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) of China's Macao Special Administrative Region. The mixed-methods analysis consists of two parts: First, a network dataset of regulations was compiled from legislative gazettes. As part of the social network analysis toolkit, the core-periphery structures of the associated government organizations were examined from 2000 to 2024. This analysis revealed that the IC changed from the periphery to the core around 2011, coinciding with Macao's contemporary urban planning legislation and indicating the IC's growing salience amidst closer interdependencies between development control and heritage conservation. Second, archival analysis of a notable case of transport infrastructure planning in Macao's new urban zones on reclaimed islands and the attendant controversy over a proposed bridge that could compromise the historic view of a lighthouse demonstrated a higher level of intragovernmental coordination and public participation with the IC caught in the discursive epicenter. These findings present a nuanced parallel between the IC's relational centrality in the institutional environment and its influence, which is not unfettered by longstanding technically oriented strongholds in the decision-making of urban planning. In the broader context of urban (re)development, this study points to an urbanism laden with heritage values but muddled by inconsistent materialization despite improving legal status.