Abstract Heritage and the Metropolis: Management Issues in Montpellier (France) The relationship between heritage and urban planning is examined in relation to the debate on metropolisation and how to overcome it. The process of heritage enhancement is conceived as a juxtaposition of heritage periods – ‘antépatrimoine’, ‘néo-patrimoine’ et ‘pro-patrimoine’ – which raise different questions about urban planning depending on the nature of the mobilisation of the heritage object, the associated methods and, finally, the capacity that is claimed for it to serve objectives other than its own. Examination of the situation in Montpellier (France) leads to a new question, which the methods identified suggest: metropolising heritage or patrimonialising the metropolis?

Abstract Heritage and the Metropolis: Management Issues in Montpellier (France) The relationship between heritage and urban planning is examined in relation to the debate on metropolisation and how to overcome it. The process of heritage enhancement is conceived as a juxtaposition of heritage periods – ‘antépatrimoine’, ‘néo-patrimoine’ et ‘pro-patrimoine’ – which raise different questions about urban planning depending on the nature of the mobilisation of the heritage object, the associated methods and, finally, the capacity that is claimed for it to serve objectives other than its own. Examination of the situation in Montpellier (France) leads to a new question, which the methods identified suggest: metropolising heritage or patrimonialising the metropolis?