Juhé-Beaulaton, Dominique

A Neglected Urban Heritage - 2009.


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In Porto-Novo, capital of Benin, some places are characterized by plants: sacred trees and gardens created under the colonial rule. The last ones were sometimes former wooded sanctuaries. In the city, this natural heritage remains still underestimated, because the architectural heritage holds all the interest and corresponds better to the western criteria of the cultural heritage. Now, these sites, sacred trees and gardens, represent commemorative sites. Their conservation and their valorisation should participate to maintain a more pleasant and healthier urban living environment, but they can also contribute to the tourism development of the city with, for example, the creation of routes of discoveries linked with these places.