Ineffective management increasingly threatens cultural heritage conservation, resulting in the mismanagement of tangible heritage assets and reducing the efficacy of conservation efforts. Although much of the literature examines the relationship between heritage management, tourism, and economic development, a notable gap exists in comprehending the interrelated elements that undermine the efficacy of conservation initiatives. This paper argues that administrative, financial, legal, and stakeholder-related factors are intricately connected in causing ineffective heritage management. These factors must be examined in interrelation to improve cultural heritage conservation efforts. A systematic review of the academic and grey literature on conserving tangible cultural assets is carried out to contribute to this goal. This literature review identifies 29 factors that contribute to the inefficacy of cultural heritage management plans. These factors are classified into several categories, including administrative institutions, stakeholders, financial resources, natural and human risks, laws and legislation, and political issues. This study presents a theoretical framework that connects governments, stakeholders, legislation, and administrative performance as crucial components in the success of heritage management. It highlights the need for transparent procedures for the successful implementation of heritage management strategies. The findings contribute to assessing cultural heritage management plans and propose directions for further research, including addressing local heritage concerns and methods to enhance the management performance. By identifying key factors that impede effective management, this paper contributes to the broader sustainability challenges of preserving cultural heritage while promoting social and economic stability. Enhanced heritage management practices can significantly contribute to the development of inclusive and sustainable communities.

This article highlights the challenges of rigorously evaluating and meaningfully communicating the socio-economic impacts of arts and crafts in northern Jordan. This article aims to identify and analyse the challenges confronting place-based arts and crafts industries in Jordan and propose valid policies and practices to address these challenges. The methodology employed involved a comprehensive review of the existing literature to elucidate the challenges faced by heritage-based artisans, and we propose several policies aimed at promoting and safeguarding the arts and crafts heritage. The findings supporting this research were derived from a series of practical workshops and focus group interviews conducted in 2022. This article also presents empirical evidence to highlight the identified challenges. It emphasises the importance of the proposed policy recommendations for the Jordanian sector, providing the audience with a sense of empowerment and an understanding of the potential solutions. This work could offer insights into how local communities innovatively leverage creative capacities, create localised impact, and address local challenges. We argue that the value of arts and crafts is better understood locally to provide impactful experiences based on community-led and community-generated creativity and flexibility. A creative participatory approach is used to create contemporary art designs and train young people on artistic and craft-making skills, application, and production as a credible precedent and best practice for developing creative cultural “enterprises” in Jordan.

Purpose: This article critically examines how Liverpool's UNESCO World Heritage status was used to support urban regeneration agendas, highlighting the tensions between heritage conservation and neoliberal planning that ultimately led to the city's delisting. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses a qualitative research approach combining document analysis, interview data and archival research. It examines planning documents, heritage reports and policy texts related to Liverpool's urban development and World Heritage Site status. Twenty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with planners, heritage professionals, private developers and community members. The analysis is guided by discourse theory, political economy and heritage governance frameworks. The study investigates how institutional actors constructed competing visions of heritage and regeneration, identifying key discursive strategies and structural dynamics that contributed to policy conflict, governance fragmentation and the eventual removal of World Heritage Site status. Findings: The study finds that heritage in Liverpool was reframed as a tool for economic regeneration rather than protected cultural value. Planning documents and decisions prioritised visual branding and investment attraction, sidelining conservation responsibilities. Conflicting interpretations of heritage value led to institutional misalignment, limited coordination and weak enforcement. Developers and city officials dominated decision-making, while heritage agencies and communities were marginalised. The result was a pattern of symbolic recognition without substantive protection. These tensions contributed directly to the eventual loss of World Heritage status, revealing deep structural contradictions within the city's governance of heritage and urban development. Research limitations/implications: The study focuses on a single case, which limits its broader applicability but allows in-depth exploration of complex governance dynamics. It relies on retrospective interviews and existing planning documents, which may reflect institutional justifications following the delisting. However, the triangulation of multiple data sources strengthens its reliability. The findings suggest a need for future comparative studies to examine similar urban contexts where heritage and development collide. They also underline the importance of stronger alignment between international conservation guidelines and local planning frameworks to avoid symbolic compliance and ensure meaningful preservation of heritage in regeneration processes. Practical implications: The findings highlight the need for clear legal mechanisms to embed heritage conservation within urban planning systems. Planning authorities should be required to integrate international conservation standards into statutory frameworks rather than treat them as optional. Heritage bodies must be engaged at the early stages of development proposals with meaningful decision-making power. Community participation should move beyond consultation towards shared authority. The Liverpool case demonstrates that without binding coordination and transparency, heritage frameworks may fail in the face of economic pressure, resulting in irreversible damage to cultural assets and reputational costs at both local and international levels. Social implications: The research reveals how urban regeneration in Liverpool reinforced social exclusion by marginalising community voices in heritage planning. While public benefit was repeatedly claimed, local residents had little influence on decisions that reshaped their environment. Heritage narratives focused on visual appeal and investment value, erasing working-class and culturally embedded histories. The exclusion of communities weakened trust in planning processes and deepened perceptions of inequality. The study shows the need for participatory heritage governance that values diverse identities and local memory, ensuring that regeneration processes are socially inclusive and culturally responsive rather than driven solely by market logic. Originality/value: This study offers an original contribution by linking critical discourse analysis with governance theory to examine heritage as a contested space shaped by economic and political interests. It reveals how symbolic heritage designations can be co-opted for development agendas and disconnected from conservation practice. The research moves beyond technical planning analysis by foregrounding power, inequality and institutional disjunction. It demonstrates that heritage governance must be understood not as neutral management but as a site of negotiation, conflict and meaning-making. The study provides valuable insights for cities facing similar tensions between international heritage frameworks and urban growth pressures.

The city of Ghadames, which includes a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with other local heritage sites such as Roman ruins, an Ottoman fortress, and a traditional mud village, exemplifies the challenges of conserving heritage in conflict-affected and neglected urban environments. This study aims to analyse the cumulative, long-term human threats, such as neglect, weak governance, and uncontrolled tourism, that gradually erode the city’s cultural fabric. The study uses a qualitative, interpretive approach, analysing official documents and conducting semi-structured interviews with local officials and heritage management experts. The findings indicate that human risks in Ghadames are not primarily due to direct actions but rather result from systemic neglect and fragmented governance, which exacerbate the vulnerability of tangible heritage. The results also reveal that the lack of comprehensive conservation policies, along with centralised heritage management and reliance on short-term, reactive measures, such as temporary restoration or tourism-focused initiatives, has led to damage that could become irreversible over time. The paper argues that successful and sustainable heritage conservation requires integrating community-based governance, long-term policy reform, and participatory risk management. It situates these findings within the broader context of Libya’s heritage, which serves as the foundation of national memory. It emphasises that addressing human risks as cumulative processes, rather than as temporary events, is crucial to safeguarding Libyan cultural heritage and ensuring its sustainability for future generations. By examining Ghadames as a case study, the paper proposes a model for sustainable heritage protection across Libya’s vulnerable cultural landscapes.