Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology developed on the basis of the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) notion applied for the city of Cuenca in Ecuador. The identification of cultural values – among all the actors involved in the city – draws up a series of sustainable urban development strategies. Design/methodology/approach: This methodology is based on the city analysis from the local community and multiple disciplines such as geomorphology, environment, urban planning, historic cartography, architecture, archaeology, anthropology, and economy. Further qualitative data collection methods included 16 workshops with 168 citizens, specific surveys, mapping, and on-site observations. The challenge of this methodology is not only its implementation in the world heritage city of Cuenca in Ecuador, but also the integration of the management of the historic centre within the overall city development plan. Findings: The application of the HUL concept has allowed the identification of a series of strategies for the urban development where the points of view coming from different stakeholders were gathered. The project reveals the existence of values and attributes, so far overlooked in the actual heritage management system. In addition, a Geographic Information System database has been created with all the information related to Cuenca with the possibility of making it available for the community in the future. Research limitations/implications: The project has been developed within one year with scarce economic resources: that is the reason why the planned activities took longer than expected. Social implications: Social participation has played a key role in the development of the project. Originality/value: This research process in Cuenca has led to its incorporation as a Latin-American pilot city for a programme developed by the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region.

This study presents the first systematic regional assessment of how the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach has been understood and applied in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) cities between 2011 and 2022. The HUL approach is framed as a socio-spatial perspective shaped by historical layering, cultural practices, ecological structures, and contemporary development pressures. A systematic review of academic publications and institutional gray literature (Scopus, Google Scholar, and municipal repositories) was conducted to evaluate both conceptual understanding and methodological implementation aligned with the six steps of the 2011 HUL Recommendation. Findings reveal a clear implementation gap: although awareness of the HUL approach has increased across the region, its practical application remains partial. Steps 1 and 2 focused on value identification and participatory engagement show the highest adoption, while steps 4 and 6 which require interinstitutional coordination and integration into statutory planning instruments exhibit limited progress. Academic and research institutions play a more prominent role than local governments in leading or supporting HUL-related actions, indicating persistent institutional and governance constraints. Results highlight the need to strengthen municipal capacities, integrate HUL-based diagnostics into urban planning systems, and consolidate participatory, interdisciplinary, and multilevel governance mechanisms to close the gap between conceptual uptake and operational implementation.

Attention to the conservation of urban areas has been already raised in international legal instruments since 1962 and recently gained momentum with the adoption of the Recommendation on Historic Urban Landscapes (HUL) in 2011 (henceforth referred as the 2011 Recommendation). Considering heritage areas as drivers of economic growth but also targets of development pressures, many cities have adopted the tools provided in the 2011 Recommendation depending on their specific geographic and socio-economic contexts testing various systems to innovate in matters of urban heritage conservation and sustainable development. The present research targets the reporting of the process of implementation of the 2011 Recommendation through the creation of a survey to gauge the participation of stakeholders in worldwide case studies to establish a comparative framework. The methodology used for the survey originates from a specific case, Cuenca in Ecuador, and the secondary data collection from 101 additional case studies. The hypothesis is that the questionnaire can compile data as a tool to compare the processes for the implementation of the 2011 Recommendation and to find trends in the cases where stakeholders have become skilled at conserving urban heritage. The design of the survey demonstrates the feasibility to carry out an exploratory validation method (COSMIN) to use significant evidence coming from active stakeholders. The survey as developed becomes a powerful tool to be adapted in different contexts and as a scientific method to reach a proper statistic confidential level, margin error and to control bias in the sample composition.