Urban heritage and contested planning: Making use of Ireland’s built past delves into the evolving role of heritage preservation within urban planning, focusing on Ireland's complex urban landscape since independence. Once marginal, heritage conservation is now seen as essential to urban identity, community well-being, and sustainable growth. Yet, this conservation practice grapples with unresolved questions: What heritage should be preserved, why and how, and who gets to decide? This book critically examines these challenges, exploring how Ireland’s postcolonial legacy shapes debates around expert and public narratives, colonial-era architecture, and the use of heritage within property-led regeneration in neoliberal contexts. Advocating for more democratic, inclusive frameworks, this book explores the intricate intersections of tangible and intangible heritage in fostering vibrant, culturally resonant urban landscapes. Urban heritage and contested planning is an essential text for scholars, policymakers, and advocates invested in sustainable, community-driven approaches to urban conservation.