The role of cultural heritage in the future models of the city. The cases of Rome and Tartu

Cultural heritage that has been a central resource in conceptualising and promoting cities is in many places in process of reframing. Proposed models for the future of the city ask for repositioning the heritage and call into question its established role and historical value. This study focuses on the shift in the interpretation of urban heritage in future oriented programs in examples of Rome, Italy and Tartu, Estonia. New ways of making sense of and representing heritage and the city are analysed in visual material of strategic tourist plan FUTOUROMA and European Capital of Culture program “Arts of Survival”. Appearing in relation to social processes of overtourism, shrinking regional population, environmental crisis of urbanisation etc., reframing of the cultural heritage is a response, a reframed cultural semiotic modelling of the city in relation to the cultural heritage and the future.