Culture, Heritage, and Tourism: A Study of Old Town Lunenburg

This report examines the cultural, historical, and tourism aspects of Old Town Lunenburg, a UNESCO World Heritage site. It addresses the challenges posed by increasing tourism, including impacts on heritage buildings and the environment. The report outlines a tourism interpretation plan aimed at preserving the town's heritage while accommodating visitors sustainably. Recommendations include managing tourist movement, protecting the fishing industry, and mitigating climate change effects. The plan incorporates maps detailing roads, utilities, zoning, and other infrastructure to guide tourists and ensure minimal impact on the area. The local government and community strategies emphasize enhancing residents' quality of life and fostering business success while safeguarding the environment.

Running Head: OLD TOWN LUNENBURG 0
Culture, Heritage and Tourism
Student Details
2/23/2019

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Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Interpretation and Tourism Plan.................................................................................................2
Roads......................................................................................................................................3
Buildings................................................................................................................................3
Water and Sewer Utilities......................................................................................................4
Zoning....................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................4
References..................................................................................................................................5
Appendix....................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
The Old Town Lunenburg was declared as World Heritage site of UNESCO in 1995
because it is the best surviving example of a planned settlement by British colonial in North
America. This town covers the core area of Lunenburg town. The Old Town Lunenburg
represents a settlement pattern which is in existence from more than 240 years and has
various examples of outstanding lingo architecture (Fudge, 2017). This report presents a
tourism interpretation plan which will be beneficial in preserving town from impacts of
increasing tourism.
Interpretation and Tourism Plan
Old Town Lunenburg occupies a narrow area along a natural harbour, the side of a
hill, original parade square of town, and a waterfront area where shipbuilding industries and
fishing are associated. However, the town remains same since its development as not much
increment in population growth has been seen, but in recent years a lot of increase in number
of tourists in the town has been reported. Increase in tourism in area is causing various worst
impacts on its Victorian heritage buildings and waterfront (The Economic Planning Group of
Canada, 2017). Therefore, local government and community has developed and initiated
various programs and policies for the protection and growth of the town. Tourism is
important source of income in this area and large number of hotels, inns, and shops exist to
provide services to the tourists. Since tourism is important for any heritage site for its
economic growth, hence it is not a smart move to restrict tourism in the area, and thus need
better strategies for sustainability of Lunenburg town (UNESCO, 2019).
Conservation of Lunenburg started in 1970s when decline in fishing and shipbuilding
industries was noted. In 2014, town developed its own strategic plan for its conservation and

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sustainability. The goal of this strategic plan was to enhance the residents’ quality of life,
operation of town effectively and efficiently, and strengthen the environment for success in
business. Tourism industry has caused threaten for the fishing industry of the town and also
put a lot of pressure on providing accommodation to the tourists. It is an undeniable fact that
as tourism industry is a big source of income but it is also a source of change in the area
(Morley, 2016). It has been observed that tourism increment has caused climate change issue
for Lunenburg and thus danger of future storm and sea level rise has become more. Here are
the following recommendations and interpretation plan for the tourists’ movement in the area.
Here is a discussion about the man-made environment which includes construction of
roads, infrastructure, bridges, and public and residential building to provide guidance to the
tourists. Information used here is collected through digital data and on-site visits of
Lunenburg town. Maps of the area are provided in the Appendix section which includes maps
of roads and building points, water and sewer utilities, property parcels, emergency
management office and other infrastructure, and zoning of Town.
Roads
Town consists of around 42.1 km of roads and these include major streets, highways,
and secondary streets. Pattern of Old Town is in rectangular grid. Roads are important as
residents and tourists need paths to travel in the town and also provide emergency escape.
Most of the roads in the town are located near to the coastline (UNEP, 2016).
Buildings
Buildings are represented by points in the map as it was not possible to determine the
exact area and size of buildings. Some buildings are represented by the shape of polygon
(Forbes & Wightman, 2012).

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Water and Sewer Utilities
Water and sewer utilities lie under major roads and are shown in the map given in the
Appendix. Water is supplied in the town from Dares Lake which is located around 4.8 km
northwest of the town (Fudge, 2017).
Zoning
The town is divided into various zones for institutional, recreational, commercial,
industrial, residential, and tourism use. The areas near the coast are mostly allowed for
recreation, open shoreline, marine industrial, and tourism purpose. The map for different
zones is given in the Appendix (UNEP, 2016).
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded that climate change is the major concern in the
Lunenburg town due to increasing number of tourists in the town. Therefore, the local
community and government have developed strategies for preserving the heritage culture and
site of the area. An interpretation plan has been developed by them which will guide the
tourists in their movement so that it will impact the area in least possible way and provide
them a good experience of visiting in the town.

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References
Forbes, J., & Wightman, J. (2012). Planning for Climate Change in the Town of Lunenburg,
NS. Retrieved from
https://climatechange.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/2012-
2013_Bluenose_1.pdf
Fudge, A. (2017). Heritage and Sustainability in Lunenburg: Big Strategies for a Small
Town. Retrieved from
https://sustainableheritagecasestudies.ca/2017/12/11/sustainability-for-world-heritage-
site/
Lunenburgns. (2014). LunenburgMarinaGuide2015R.pdf. Retrieved from
http://www.lunenburgns.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/LunenburgMarinaGuide20
15R.pdf
Morley, F. (2016). The Importance of Tourism to Nova Scotia Communities. Retrieved from
https://tourismns.ca/sites/default/files/municipalvoicesummer2016.pdf
The Economic Planning Group of Canada. (2017). A Guide to Community Tourism Planning
in Nova Scotia. Retrieved from
https://tourismns.ca/sites/default/files/2017-01/final_a_guide_to_community_tourism
_planning_in_nova_scotia_nov_2013.pdf
UNEP. (2016). World Heritage and Tourism in a Changing Climate. Retrieved from
https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/7603/-
World_heritage_and_tourism_in_a_changing_climate-
2016World_Heritage_and_Tourism_FINAL.pdf.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y

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UNESCO. (2019). Old Town Lunenburg. Retrieved from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/741

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Appendix
1. Old Town Lunenburg
Source: (Forbes & Wightman, 2012)
2. Context Map
1. Nova Scotia; 2. County of Lunenburg; 3. Town of Lunenburg
Source: (UNESCO, 2019)

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3. Slope
Source: (Forbes & Wightman, 2012)
4. Forest Cover
Source: (Forbes & Wightman, 2012)

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5. Brochure

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