Preserving Heritage through Technology in a City Undergoing Change

Recent developments in information and communication technology have advanced the connectivity of cities, both in terms of scope and efficiency. The connected nature of a city is one of the key characteristics of the concept of a smart city, a modern city whose urban growth is fuelled by technology, infrastructure, and an emphasis on social and educational capital. Such growth affects the physical and social landscape of a city, and both the tangible and intangible heritage of a city is threatened by these changing landscapes. At the same time, new technology brings potential new methods for the preservation of a city´s threatened heritage. The present paper aims to place a city´s heritage in the context of a smart city, and how it is affected by such urban development. Using the preservation of World War II heritage in Aalborg, Denmark as a case study, this paper presents a way to use recent advancements in mobile technology to allow users experience stories that comprise a city´s heritage at the locations in the urban environment where they took place.