Tourism-led regeneration projects in World Heritage Cities through the Historic Urban Landscape lens: a street-level comparative analysis of Kraków, Poland and Yazd, Iran

This study compares outcomes of tourism-led, street-level regeneration within two World Heritage Cities (WHCs): Grodzka in the Historic Centre of Kraków, Poland, and Masjed Jame in the Historic City of Yazd, Iran. Focusing on local stakeholders, the comparison is based on the declared outcomes of the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach, introduced by UNESCO in 2011. A Mann–Whitney U test and effect-size analysis are employed, utilising data obtained through purposive and convenience sampling. Findings reveal that differing tourism maturity levels shape distinct outcomes; therefore, we propose a staged HUL framework to provide context-sensitive planning for emerging and mature WHCs.