Editorial

At the beginning of this new decade, Built Heritage, which is sponsored by Tongji University in cooperation with elite scholars in China and internationally, has now entered its fourth year of publication, with 12 issues published to date. On behalf of all members of the Editorial Board and the Editorial Office, we would like to express our heartfelt blessings and sincere thanks to all our authors, reviewers, and readers in China and abroad for their great contributions to the development of this journal.

With the aim to establish bridges for scientific exchange, Built Heritage has striven to work with the most prestigious members of the academic community worldwide as Editorial Board members, guest editors, authors and reviewers. With 86 articles published in its first three years, Built Heritage has reflected the current challenges and opportunities for heritage conservation and revitalisation in countries from the five continents. It is also easy to see the journal’s high visibility and impact through the growing number of citations by top scholars published in other prestigious journals. We trust that our readers appreciate the quality of the papers that we publish and more importantly, these publications will contribute to further development in the field of heritage conservation and revitalisation.

Built Heritage aims to reflect the currently discussed hot topics about heritage in China and internationally from a cross-cultural perspective. Special issues, including Non-Western Approaches to Conservation, Asian Architectural Heritage, 20th Century Heritage, Cultural Landscapes, Historic Urban Landscape, Rural Heritage, and Shanghai as Crossroads, have shown our commitment to standing at the frontiers of the heritage field. Furthermore, Built Heritage’s Editorial Board and Editorial Office have taken active roles as promoters of the discussion and dissemination of heritage, contributing to the organization of two Conferences on Built Heritage Studies in Tongji University in 2017 and 2019, and giving editorial support to domestic and international scientific meetings. Built Heritage has also developed a reference website, www.built-heritage.net, and is active in Chinese and overseas social media. With its important domestic and international reach, our journal’s contents also include information on events and activities, and interviews with leading heritage voices, among other relevant material.

Since its inception, Built Heritage has been gradually expanding its influence in the international cultural heritage community. The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the Documentation and Conservation of Building, Sites and Neighbourhoods of the Modern Movement (DOCOMOMO), the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and other international organizations and institutions are now also paying attention to the development of this journal. Built Heritage took flight from China and now encompasses the world in reflection of the fable of the bird in the Yulao chapter of Hanfeitse: three years without a song, but once it sings, it will become a hit! In our third year, Built Heritage was indexed as a primary resource by the China Science Citation Database (CSCD) and was entered into the CSCD Core Journal database for the period of 2019–2020. From its first issue in 2020, Built Heritage will be published online in the SpringerOpen platform, http://built-heritage.springeropen.com, which will be the journal’s first big step in becoming globally renowned.

The above-mentioned performance and widespread attention for our journal have urged us to continue our persistent efforts to become a world-class journal at an early date. Built Heritage’s Editorial Board and Editorial Office will make further efforts to reinforce this publication’s important academic connection between China and overseas. The support of our publishing partners, Springer Nature and Tongji University Press, will be fundamental in providing enhanced services to our authors and readers by improving the significance of the articles published in our pages. We will continue to be active in the academic community by fostering the exchange of knowledge through an array of initiatives, including conferences, lectures, symposia and exhibitions. We will persevere to have a voice on the most relevant topics in the field and establish cooperation with the most qualified stakeholders to achieve our ultimate goal: that is, making meaningful contributions to the improvement of the quality of the built environment from a heritage perspective worldwide.

We cannot achieve this ambition without your support! The Editorial Office is committed to publishing a high-impact journal through efficient editorial processes. We look forward to receiving your manuscripts and support. The year 2020 marks a fresh start for Built Heritage in a new decade. Let us all make it a good start for our journal!