MACAO’S CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE AND VISION. ARE THEY, OR CAN THEY BE, COMPATIBLE?
Post-handover Macao faces transformative pressures from the dissolution of the gambling monopoly and large-scale investments, prompting scrutiny of whether a revitalized urban vision can coexist with Macao’s cultural heritage. This article investigates Macao’s cultural heritage significance and the...
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| Published in: | Review of Culture |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Articles |
| Published: |
Instituto Cultural de Macau
October 2002
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40004/2690 |
| _version_ | 1877196271462121472 |
|---|---|
| author | Ferdinand J. Lamarca |
| author_autocomplete | Ferdinand J. Lamarca |
| author_browse | Ferdinand J. Lamarca |
| author_facet | Ferdinand J. Lamarca Ferdinand J. Lamarca |
| author_sort | Ferdinand J. Lamarca |
| container_title | Review of Culture |
| container_title_str | Review of Culture |
| container_volume | 4 |
| container_volume_str | 4 |
| description | Post-handover Macao faces transformative pressures from the dissolution of the gambling monopoly and large-scale investments, prompting scrutiny of whether a revitalized urban vision can coexist with Macao’s cultural heritage. This article investigates Macao’s cultural heritage significance and the viability of its contemporary vision, and assesses their compatibility. Employing a UNESCO-inspired framework—Culture Heritage Management and Tourism: Models for Cooperation among Stakeholders—the study defines cultural significance as the living memory and identity of a place, expressed through tangible and intangible heritage, and analyzes how this significance may be affected by development trajectories. The author also situates Macao within a broader comparative context by invoking World Heritage examples (Bhaktapur, Ha Hoe, Kandy, Hoi An, Lijiang) to illustrate how sites maintain integrity and authenticity while evolving.
The analysis finds that Macao’s significance rests on the intercultural confluence of Chinese and Portuguese influences, linguistic and ritual traditions, and a distinctive urban milieu. These elements are at risk of erosion under aggressive tourism and casino-led growth, yet they can be reinforced through a coherent governance framework that emphasizes stakeholder cooperation, participatory planning, and heritage-centered branding. Conclusions argue that compatibility is attainable if Macao’s development strategy explicitly integrates heritage conservation with economic aims, ensuring sustainable, identity-driven growth rather than mere commodification of culture. |
| first_indexed | 2026-09-11T02:56:51Z |
| format | Articles |
| genre | Articles |
| genre_facet | Articles |
| hierarchy_browse | Review of Culture{{{_ID_}}}zotero-coll-76L3BRGH |
| hierarchy_parent_id | zotero-coll-76L3BRGH |
| hierarchy_parent_title | Review of Culture |
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| issn | 1682-1106 |
| last_indexed | 2026-09-11T02:56:51Z |
| latest_content_date | 2026-09-11T02:56:51Z |
| publishDate | October 2002 |
| publishDateRange | 2002 |
| publishDateSort | 2002 |
| publishPlace | Macau |
| publisher | Instituto Cultural de Macau |
| publisherStr | Instituto Cultural de Macau |
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| spelling | MACAO’S CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE AND VISION. ARE THEY, OR CAN THEY BE, COMPATIBLE? Post-handover Macao faces transformative pressures from the dissolution of the gambling monopoly and large-scale investments, prompting scrutiny of whether a revitalized urban vision can coexist with Macao’s cultural heritage. This article investigates Macao’s cultural heritage significance and the viability of its contemporary vision, and assesses their compatibility. Employing a UNESCO-inspired framework—Culture Heritage Management and Tourism: Models for Cooperation among Stakeholders—the study defines cultural significance as the living memory and identity of a place, expressed through tangible and intangible heritage, and analyzes how this significance may be affected by development trajectories. The author also situates Macao within a broader comparative context by invoking World Heritage examples (Bhaktapur, Ha Hoe, Kandy, Hoi An, Lijiang) to illustrate how sites maintain integrity and authenticity while evolving. The analysis finds that Macao’s significance rests on the intercultural confluence of Chinese and Portuguese influences, linguistic and ritual traditions, and a distinctive urban milieu. These elements are at risk of erosion under aggressive tourism and casino-led growth, yet they can be reinforced through a coherent governance framework that emphasizes stakeholder cooperation, participatory planning, and heritage-centered branding. Conclusions argue that compatibility is attainable if Macao’s development strategy explicitly integrates heritage conservation with economic aims, ensuring sustainable, identity-driven growth rather than mere commodification of culture. Instituto Cultural de Macau Macau Review of Culture Articles October 2002 Ferdinand J. Lamarca |
| spellingShingle | MACAO’S CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE AND VISION. ARE THEY, OR CAN THEY BE, COMPATIBLE? Ferdinand J. Lamarca |
| title | MACAO’S CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE AND VISION. ARE THEY, OR CAN THEY BE, COMPATIBLE? |
| title_autocomplete | MACAO’S CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE AND VISION. ARE THEY, OR CAN THEY BE, COMPATIBLE? |
| title_full | MACAO’S CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE AND VISION. ARE THEY, OR CAN THEY BE, COMPATIBLE? |
| title_fullStr | MACAO’S CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE AND VISION. ARE THEY, OR CAN THEY BE, COMPATIBLE? |
| title_full_unstemmed | MACAO’S CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE AND VISION. ARE THEY, OR CAN THEY BE, COMPATIBLE? |
| title_short | MACAO’S CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE AND VISION. ARE THEY, OR CAN THEY BE, COMPATIBLE? |
| title_sort | macao’s cultural significance and vision. are they, or can they be, compatible? |
| url | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40004/2690 |
| zotero_collection_key | 76L3BRGH |