Adaptive Sustainable Reuse for Cultural Heritage: A Multiple Criteria Decision Aiding Approach Supporting Urban Development Processes

Lucia Della Spina

doi:10.3390/su12041363

Abstract

The European Union identifies the cultural heritage of cities as the main driver of development strategies. From this perspective, adaptive reuse can play a decisive role not only in terms of increasing the life cycle of the heritage but also as an urban strategy capable of generating new economic, cultural, and social values, thus supporting innovative dynamics of local development. The aim is to propose an integrated evaluation model based on the combined use of multi-criteria techniques, which helps to classify adaptive reuse strategies of unused cultural heritage assets and supports decision-makers in the implementation of development strategies in vulnerable contexts. The case study focuses on the potential reuse of some historical fortifications located along the coasts of the Strait of Messina in Southern Italy. The results obtained show that the proposed model can be a useful decision support tool, in contexts characterized by high complexity, able to guarantee the transparency of the decision-making process, and in which it is necessary to highlight the elements that influence the dynamics of the choice for the construction of shared development strategies.

Highlights

Introduction and OverviewIn the current scientific debate, cities represent the contexts in which resources, capital, skills, and talents are concentrated and, at the same time, places where many challenges are concentrated regarding environmental, economic, political, and cultural dimensions
The European Commission identifies the cultural heritage of cities as the main driver of development and supports strategies in which it is considered one of the fundamental elements of possible transformations, which can be activated through mixed top down/bottom up approaches in the short and long term
Adaptive reuse can play a decisive role in terms of increasing the life cycle of the heritage and as an urban strategy capable of generating new, even divergent values, supporting innovative dynamics of local development and which underline the importance of preserving cultural heritage and the instrumental values for its livelihood [1] in a “circular” perspective [2]

Summary

Introduction

Introduction and OverviewIn the current scientific debate, cities represent the contexts in which resources, capital, skills, and talents are concentrated and, at the same time, places where many challenges are concentrated regarding environmental (pollution, waste, climate change), economic (unemployment, social exclusion, well-being), political (instability in governance processes, lack of strategic planning), and cultural (training, creativity and innovation) dimensions. The European Commission identifies the cultural heritage of cities as the main driver of development and supports strategies in which it is considered one of the fundamental elements of possible transformations, which can be activated through mixed top down/bottom up approaches in the short and long term From this perspective, adaptive reuse can play a decisive role in terms of increasing the life cycle of the heritage and as an urban strategy capable of generating new, even divergent values (economic, aesthetic, cultural, educational, political), supporting innovative dynamics of local development and which underline the importance of preserving cultural heritage and the instrumental values for its livelihood [1] in a “circular” perspective [2]. Even where conservation measures are carried out, the potential impact of this public investment is countered by an absent or short-sighted management program

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Methods

Conclusion