An article in Domus claim that a serial killer of cities is wandering about the planet. Its name is UNESCO, and its lethal weapon is the label "World Heritage", with which it drains the lifeblood from glorious villages and ancient
metropolises, embalming them in a brand-name time warp.

http://www.domusweb.it/en/op-ed/2014/08/20/urbanicide_in_allgoodfaith.html

a counter respond also in Domus - Unesco is not ISIS

http://www.domusweb.it/en/op-ed/2014/08/27/unesco_is_not_isis.html

Nothing like a massive slice of hyperbole to work as clickbait :)

I feel the somewhat hysterical tone is doing a disservice to a few valid points.

It mostly makes me what to pick holes just to discredit the article:
-Finding a Roman wall and changing Lisbon cathedral because of it, great, alas Lisbon cathedral has nothing to do with WHS.
-And blaming the Olympics for Greece's financial problems seems to be [wilfully?] confusing cause with symptom.

Yes World Heritage listing brings about problems, it also solves others. There are different ways to react to these problems, some cities do it well others don't. Suggesting that WH listing only has one outcome is a rather ill conceived and badly argued point. I guess this article is more for generating comment and interest rather than actually addressing any of the issues.

Well the second article is much more considered and relevant. It raises areas of concern but also highlights the benefits. Alas it isn't the sort of frothing polemic that will draw people in like the first one, it is however closer to my perception of the role the list plays in heritage preservation.

Thanks for the links Durian.