Assessing sustainability within territorial and urban heritage

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a methodology to assess urban sustainability within built, urban, territorial and landscape heritage, considering that cultural heritage has recently emerged as one of the keys of urban and territorial sustainability due to its inherent properties of durability and adaptability to changes over time. The implementation pivots on a case study based on medium-sized historical cities. Both academic and official documents consider this urban category as particularly likely to demographic, environmental and economic sustainability.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology used begins with a theoretical approach, case study delimitation and presentation of existing indicator-based systems that include heritage concerns. Then, the criteria for the selection and creation of indicators are settled to create an ad hoc system. This is tested for the case study of medium-sized historical cities in inner Andalusia, Spain.FindingsThe results obtained are merged and represented for further discussion. First, this methodology states the need of including cultural heritage aspects within sustainability assessment, especially when urban and territorial historic fabrics are involved. Second, a correlation between heritage preservation and the general level of sustainability is revealed.Originality/valueFinally, the results provide the basis for decisions to academic, technical and administrative spheres regarding urban and territorial sustainability, especially when dealing with the incorporation of cultural heritage factors and the assessment of medium-sized cities-based case studies.