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The article aims to elucidate the impact that neoliberal tourism development has had on the living environment of the Old Town of Tallinn through the perceptions of residents and property owners.

This article's empirical analysis is based on a sociological survey conducted amongst 338 residents and property owners of Tallinn Old Town.

The research showed quite low tourism tolerance amongst the residents of Tallinn Old Town, the host community, in comparison to the city's residents in general. Half of the residents estimated the tourism load to be too heavy during the high season before the pandemic. The differences in perceptions based on geographical location indicated that people who lived in the most touristic areas of the Old Town were more critical about all aspects about their living environment.

The article provides a detailed insight into the social impact of tourism in a historical urban area, where the post-socialist neoliberal context has enabled unrestricted tourism growth and increasing vulnerability of the local community. The roots of these processes can be traced back to Soviet urban and housing policies. The case exemplifies the significance of local time-space specificities to be considered in building an understanding of contemporary touristification and its impact on local communities in heritage areas.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the reasons why the human rights-based approach should be used in the preservation of cultural heritage.

The article is a combination of an essay and illustrative case studies. The thesis is based on experience in heritage protection on national and international level and the discussions of the “Heritage and Human Rights” training in Estonia 1.-6.05.2019.

Cultural heritage is the common good regardless of its ownership. The protection of something, especially in living environments, includes compromises in the rights of one or another counterpart. Restrictions are often ground for conflicts that can be settled with good communication, but sometimes just communication is not enough. In these cases, human rights-based approaches enable to identify the problems, scale the rights of different stakeholders and thus enable discussion to reach consensus.

The research is useful for heritage conservationists, policy makers and urban planners with regards to management and implementation of human rights-based approach and community involvement in heritage protection on World Heritage, national and local levels.

The research is a part of a series of discussions, trainings and project reports of the Our Common Dignity – Rights Based Approaches (OCD-RBA) working group of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and contributes to the follow-up activities worldwide.