Speaker
Description
The present intervention explores the different ways in which the heritisation of the old city of Tunis has continued since the Tunisian revolution of 2011. It focuses on the ways in which the historic urban fabric has been the object of discourse and practice by urban planners, architects and tourism entrepreneurs, the latter category comprising individuals and businesses ranging from the highly professional to the amateur. We believe that this last category plays an increasingly important role in heritage development. Since the 1980s, the medina has been subject to a specific town planning code that the municipality was able to enforce fairly effectively until 2011. A major programme of works carried out before that year enhanced the historic aesthetics of an entire sector of the central medina; similar operations continued in the early 2010s. A municipal programme to improve private housing continued over the same period.
A new tool entered the houses of the medina in 2013: Airbnb. Until the arrival of this platform - and the authorities’ new tolerant attitude towards seasonal rentals, severely restricted until the 2011 revolution - new players were able to enter the tourist accommodation market. Today, Airbnb-related activity might be considered the main force in heritage-related development in a context where the state is unable to fund the restoration of the main monuments or fully apply the provisos of the planning code. Certain private actors, closely involved in holiday rentals and particularly adept at communication via digital platforms, are positioning themselves as key players in heritage conservation.
In this context of weakened official urban planning, this paper explores how the digital accommodation platform is used by various groups partaking of heritage discourse in the old town of Tunis. What does Airbnb tell us about these actors and their vision of heritage, how does the platform effect power dynamics within the Medina? Is it possible to think of Airbnb as a tool foregrounding multiple visions of heritage? Leaving aside the repercussions of the platform on the urban property market, can it be seen to have an emancipatory dimension in the context of the Medina of Tunis?
To answer these various questions, our paper proposes an analysis of the interplay of the actors operating within the discourses of heritisation of the historic centre of Tunis. This analysis is underpinned by a key socio-political and cultural event: the 2011 revolution and its many repercussions.
| Keywords | Médina of Tunis, heritisation, urban conservation, Airbnb – digital platforms |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
