The research seeks to monitor and evaluate urban conservation initiatives, as well as their respective impacts on urban, building, economic and social contexts in Brazilian cities where it is applied. It uses the city of Rio de Janeiro as a reference and the results obtained in more than thirty areas protected by the city hall, through the urban instrument called Area of Protection of the Cultural Environment (APAC), used in the last thirty years for the specific purpose of urban conservation. The research aims to contribute to new subsidies for the current stage of debates on the theme, inserting new elements necessary for the critical evaluation of the current conservation strategies of urban areas used in Brazilian cities, especially in Rio de Janeiro.