World Heritage cities management

Purpose – This article aims to introduce the special issue of the journal Facilities on "World Heritage cities management", together with the respective articles.Design/methodology/approach – This introduction addresses the topic of world Heritage cities management and its relevance to science and society. In so doing, it indirectly points to the emerging field of cultural heritage management within facilities management.Findings – Even though the management of cultural heritage assets is nothing new for facilities managers, cultural heritage management as a field of research can be considered at a younger stage of development than other related studies, such as the discipline of architectural conservation, which originated in the nineteenth century with the advent of modernity. The application of management practices to immovable cultural heritage assets emerged as recently as the 1990s. At a time in which the role of culture and heritage in processes of sustainable development is gaining more ground, th...