‘Unesco-cide’: does world heritage status do cities more harm than good?

'Unesco-cide': does world heritage status do cities more harm than good?

Chew Jetty in Malaylsia’s George Town attracts tourists by the boatload. Historic homes are now commercial stalls branded with neon signs; one-time fishermen peddle T-shirts, magnets and postcards. Tour buses deposit vacationers from early in the morning until well after sunset.

The daily intrusion has clearly taken a toll: windows are boarded, “no photo” signs are pervasive, and tenants quickly vanish at the sight of a foreign face.

“I would like to remind people that we are not monkeys, and this is not a zoo,” says Lee Kah Lei, who runs a souvenir stall outside her home on the Chew Jetty.

Although Kah Lei notes that “the more people who come here, the more the shopkeepers sell”, she wishes camera-wielding tourists were respectful of her privacy – and especially not duck into her home uninvited.

This is an excerpt from an article first published by The Guardian. Read the original article here: Unescocide’: does world heritage status do cities more harm than good?


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