Commoning Adaptive Heritage Reuse as a Driver of Social Innovation: Naples and the Scugnizzo Liberato Case Study

Federica Fava

doi:10.3390/su14010191

Abstract

The adaptive reuse of cultural heritage assets is often problematic. What emerges is the urgency of a thoughtful negotiation between built forms and emerging needs and requests. In this view, a fruitful trajectory of development arises in commoning heritage by means of adaptive reuse. Hence, the purpose of this article is to investigate how community-led adaptive heritage re-use practices contribute to social innovation in terms of new successful model of urban governance, by providing a specific focus on innovative aspects that emerge in both heritage and planning sectors. Therefore, it also aims to improve the knowledge in the innovative power of heritage when conceptualized as performative practice. To this end, the paper presents the adaptation process of a former church complex located in Naples, today Scugnizzo Liberato, one of the bottom-up initiatives recognized by the Municipality of Naples as part of the urban commons network of the city. The research results are based on desk research, a literature review, and interviews with experts and activists, conducted as part of the OpenHeritage project (Horizon 2020). Initial evidence shows that profound citizen involvement throughout the whole heritage-making process might generate innovative perspectives in urban governance as well as conservation planning practice.

Highlights

Introduction of Social InnovationNaples and theThe importance of the re-conceptualization of cultural heritage as a common good is solidly affirmed in the European quality principles for EU-funded interventions with potential impact upon cultural heritage, issued by ICOMOS in 2020 [1]
Analyzing the Scugnizzo Liberato, and more generally, the process conducted in Naples under the umbrella of the commons, this article focuses on the innovate aspects of the presented actions
This shifts the attention towards innovations generated along the trajectory of the commons, understanding motivations, modalities and tools that might be upscaled in the heritage sector

Summary

Introduction

The importance of the re-conceptualization of cultural heritage as a common good is solidly affirmed in the European quality principles for EU-funded interventions with potential impact upon cultural heritage, issued by ICOMOS in 2020 [1]. What these policy documents share is the orientation towards a humanization of the built environment, often advocating for a different kind of ownership as much as the activation of new social constructions [3]. In this context, the role of communities in cultural heritage is increasingly recognized and fostered by the European commission.

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