The Geography of Cultural Heritage: A Conceptual Reading of Place, Boundary, and Physical Interventions

International conservation doctrines have expanded from structural preservation toward the inclusion of cultural context; nevertheless, physical fabric continues to serve as the primary reference point in heritage evaluation. This study discusses how interventions in the geographical context may affect heritage value even when the architectural structure itself remains physically intact. Methodologically, the research is based on the systematic coding and comparison, through qualitative content analysis, of seven doctrinal documents, in order to trace the evolution of the concepts of "geography" and "place" within the charters, across two stages. Blending conservation charters with landscape ecology and critical heritage studies, the study develops an analytical framework comprising five spatial/physical intervention types—fragmentation, boundary-making, ground alteration, ecological alteration, and contextual/visual severance—and one additional relational/functional transformation: functional displacement. The study argues that conservation boundaries and the boundaries of heritage value are not the same. As a result, the study offers a holistic theoretical framework that shifts the focus from the preservation of the isolated structure toward sustaining the geographical and relational continuity of the place to which the structure belongs.