Urban Preservation Challenges in a Global Perspective

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Urban Preservation Challenges in a Global Perspective," at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Urban environments are palimpsests of human experience. Their waterfronts are filled with remnants of old ships and the aspirations of merchants and seafarers while their neighborhoods hold clues of the hidden lives of immigrants and the trauma and hopes of the enslaved and marginalized. The unique nature of cities, marked by transiency and diverse populations, pose a variety of preservation challenges while simultaneously providing unique opportunities for studying the past. Archaeologists and other historical preservationists around the world tackle similar problems, albeit with local variations, including complex stratigraphy, climate change, rapid redevelopment, issues of race and ethnicity, and multiple stakeholder groups with competing goals. This session will explore the challenges and opportunities afforded by urban environments in a global perspective. Participants are encouraged to submit papers on a variety of topics including methodological challenges in urban archaeology, creative preservation strategies, and the interpretive tensions that arise from working in cities.