A Novel Paradigm to Achieve Sustainable Regeneration in Historical Centres with Cultural Heritage

Abstract

Historical urban centres have particular vulnerabilities both to natural hazards and to extreme climatic events. At the same time, cultural heritage is a significant driving force in the European economy, society and culture. This paper suggests that a novel paradigm, capable to tackle the issue of protecting Historical Centres with Cultural Heritage Value with a holistic approach, would allow a sustainable management of their values. Historical Centres with Cultural Heritage Value conservation needs to be integrated into wider urban -and metropolitan- strategies. Setting up a novel methodology for the analysis and management of risk of Heritage City Centres would promote a wider understanding of the social and ecological costs associated with the loss of cultural assets. This can lead to better informed clear and measurable targets and evidence-based decision making. The resulting strategies should help costly damage to valuable Historical Centres with Cultural Heritage Value assets, but will also lead to the enhancement of Heritage City Centres to ensure progressive resilience measures are implemented in the future in metropolitan areas.