The conservation of historic urban fabric, when pursued through multiple interventions, cannot be assessed solely in terms of the breadth of issues addressed or the success of individual interventions within their respective areas of expertise. The quality of relationships among interventions and their outcomes is equally fundamental to judging the coherence of the urban fabric as a whole. This article critically examines the relationship between thematic comprehensiveness and relational wholeness in planning programs and interventions within the historic urban fabric of Bushehr, Iran. The analysis draws on evidence from the scholarly literature, available planning documents and data, and field-based observations. By distinguishing between intra-programmatic and inter-programmatic coherence, the study examines the relationships among the objectives, actions, and outcomes of different interventions. The critical analysis indicates that conservation and restoration, adaptive reuse, public-space improvement, and tourism planning each exhibit distinct forms of disciplinary rationality and a degree of thematic comprehensiveness. However, the available evidence is insufficient to confirm the emergence of relational wholeness at the scale of the historic urban fabric; at the same time, it does not substantiate a definitive rupture among the programs. The central issue, therefore, is not the absence of intervention, but rather the gap between the coherence of individual interventions and the coherence produced through their interactions. From this perspective, wholeness does not emerge from the multiplicity of intervention domains or from the aggregation of isolated successes; rather, it depends on the organization of relationships among interventions, feedback from their consequences, and the capacity to recalibrate decisions over time. Accordingly, shifting from the management of interventions toward the management of relationships among interventions provides an analytical basis for connecting heritage conservation with the continued vitality and long-term continuity of the historic urban fabric.

Main Research Question

To what extent have the programs and interventions associated with the historic urban fabric of Bushehr moved beyond thematic comprehensiveness and intra-programmatic coherence to achieve relational wholeness at the scale of the urban fabric as a whole, through the organization of relationships among their objectives, actions, and outcomes?

Keywords: Thematic Comprehensiveness, Relational Wholeness, Inter-programmatic Coherence, Historic Urban Fabric of Bushehr

     

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