(Re)Connecting Maritime Heritage: Urban Resilience and Waterfront Developments Within the Peripheries of World Heritage Sites

State-led waterfront developments in the Gulf region, while aiming to reconnect maritime heritage with World Heritage Sites (WHSs), often fall short on social integration and climate adaptation, undermining urban resilience. A comparative study of Historic Jeddah and Muharraq, Bahrain, using an expanded Comprehensive Waterfront Development Index (CWDI) framework—now comprising eight dimensions—revealed that these projects, though integrating key CWDI aspects, lack sufficient social cohesion and climate adaptability. This finding highlights a critical gap in sustainable development within rapidly transforming WHS peripheries, challenging the narrative of waterfront developments as mere extensions of heritage assets.

Al Khalifa, H. E., & Hanif, S. (2026). (Re)Connecting Maritime Heritage: Urban Resilience and Waterfront Developments Within the Peripheries of World Heritage Sites. Sustainability, 18(11), 5752. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18115752