Implementing the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) Approach: Learning from Interventions in Swiss Heritage Sites

The adoption of the historic urban landscape (HUL) approach to bridging cultural heritage and urban management practice has been facilitated by the dissemination of implementation experiences in scientific and grey literature. While the Swiss legal framework for historic sites resonates with the HUL approach, the extent to which practice reflects its six steps, a set of strategies designed to inform local action, remains unclear. This study examines interventions in sites listed in the Federal Inventory of Heritage Sites (ISOS) to identify evidence of practices aligned with these steps, with particular attention to Steps 2 (participation), 4 (integration into planning frameworks), and 6 (partnerships), which remain underrepresented in existing literature. The analysis of 10 case reports suggests prevalence of HUL-aligned practices, particularly in the early integration of heritage values into planning processes, the adaptation of design solutions to contextual constraints, and the involvement of multiple stakeholders in project development. This work recognises the importance of Swiss institutional conditions, including the legal status of ISOS, established planning cultures, and participatory mechanisms, in shaping these outcomes. Rather than offering a universally applicable model, this study provides insights into how HUL-aligned practices may emerge within specific governance contexts and identifies conditions for their transferability.