Research

19 pages, 4956 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Will World Cultural Heritage Sites Boost Economic Growth? Evidence from Chinese Cities

by Zhixin Zeng and Xiaojun Wang

Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 8375; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15108375 - 22 May 2023

Viewed by 1538

Cultural heritage is closely related to the economy. However, most studies focus on the relationship between the cultural heritage and tourism economy, instead of on the overall economy. This paper estimated the effect of the World Cultural Heritage(s) (WCH) acquisition on economic growth [...] Read more.

Cultural heritage is closely related to the economy. However, most studies focus on the relationship between the cultural heritage and tourism economy, instead of on the overall economy. This paper estimated the effect of the World Cultural Heritage(s) (WCH) acquisition on economic growth in 242 Chinese cities from 2004 to 2017, based on multiple variations of the difference-in-differences method. Our results show that the WCH acquisition can boost economic growth in local cities. In addition, research and development investments, appearance patents, and exports are three plausible channels for the WCH acquisition to spur cities’ economic growth. Connecting to high-speed rail is not necessary for a city to gather economic benefits from the WCH acquisition. Being a smart city can increase the economic enhancement capacity of the WCH acquisition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Cultural Heritage in Promoting the Sustainable Development of Cities and Territories)

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18 pages, 2028 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Role of Community Participation and Social Inclusion in Successful Historic City Center Regeneration in the Mediterranean Region

by Ali Tanrıkul

Sustainability 2023, 15(9), 7723; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097723 - 08 May 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2529

Abstract

Historic city center regeneration in the Mediterranean region is often seen as a tool for economic development and tourism promotion. However, the success of regeneration initiatives is not only dependent on financial investments and physical interventions but also on the social, cultural, and [...] Read more.

Historic city center regeneration in the Mediterranean region is often seen as a tool for economic development and tourism promotion. However, the success of regeneration initiatives is not only dependent on financial investments and physical interventions but also on the social, cultural, and environmental sustainability of the projects. Community participation and social inclusion are two important factors that can contribute to the long-term success of historic city center regeneration in the Mediterranean region. This paper provides an overview of the existing literature on community participation and social inclusion in historic city center regeneration and explores their role in successful regeneration projects in the Mediterranean region. The paper argues that community participation can foster a sense of ownership and collective identity among local residents and can provide valuable knowledge and resources for the planning and implementation of regeneration initiatives. Social inclusion, on the other hand, can help to ensure that the benefits of regeneration are distributed fairly and equitably among all members of the community, including marginalized and vulnerable groups. The paper provides case studies of successful historic city center regeneration projects in the Mediterranean region, including Valencia (Spain), Palermo (Italy), and Chania (Greece), to illustrate the importance of community participation and social inclusion in achieving sustainable and inclusive urban regeneration. The paper concludes by highlighting the need for more research and policy attention to be paid to these critical factors in historic city center regeneration initiatives in the Mediterranean region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Cultural Heritage in Promoting the Sustainable Development of Cities and Territories)

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22 pages, 42935 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Implementation of Urban Solution for New Faculty Facilities within Spatial Historical and Cultural Units—A Case Study of Belgrade, Serbia

by Nataša Danilović Hristić, Marija Lalošević and Nebojša Stefanović

Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5590; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065590 - 22 Mar 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1361

Abstract

The focus of this study is buildings for public purposes, specifically for higher education, planned in zones of spatial cultural-historical units. Sustainable urban planning in areas with cultural-historical heritage is a particular challenge since the higher education facilities themselves have their own functional [...] Read more.

The focus of this study is buildings for public purposes, specifically for higher education, planned in zones of spatial cultural-historical units. Sustainable urban planning in areas with cultural-historical heritage is a particular challenge since the higher education facilities themselves have their own functional requirements, which are much easier to fulfill in “softer” locations. The research objective is to prove the hypothesis that it is possible to indicate a prescription for the practical application of the theoretical model and define the necessary steps to achieve the best sustainable quality results in practice. The paper analyses the associated process, relational settings, circumstances, participants, and timelines, and it presents the results of final designs based on two parallel case studies of new capital buildings for the University of Belgrade. Methodologically it gives an overview of the context, referring to other research and examples, detailing chosen case studies, and describing their backgrounds, conditions and requirements, frameworks, chronologies, approaches, and results. The discussion concludes with theoretical models originating from the comparison of implemented steps in the process of creation and evaluation of architectural ideas and summarized similarities and differences, aiming that there is a common model suitable for further applications. The practical result of the research is findings about the pathway for the best original planning solution emphasized through the institution of urban architectural competitions as a mandatory step, recommending wider participation of experts in the process of evaluation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Cultural Heritage in Promoting the Sustainable Development of Cities and Territories)

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16 pages, 6584 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Reconstruction of Post-War Cities—Proposing Integrated Conservation Plans for Aleppo’s Reconstruction

by Despina Dimelli and Areti Kotsoni

Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5472; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065472 - 20 Mar 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2221

Abstract

The reconstruction of historic cities is a complicated challenge that has been faced using different principles diachronically. Historic cities that have suffered severe damage are areas that need to be replanned to preserve their urban characteristics and adjust to their residents’ needs. This [...] Read more.

The reconstruction of historic cities is a complicated challenge that has been faced using different principles diachronically. Historic cities that have suffered severe damage are areas that need to be replanned to preserve their urban characteristics and adjust to their residents’ needs. This paper aims to examine the principles of urban preservation according to the terms of Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) principles, which consider historic centers as living organisms that need to be adjusted to modern society’s needs. The examined case study is the historic center of Aleppo and its post-war reconstruction. The research focuses on the five physical elements below: the site’s morphology, geomorphology, and natural features; its built environment, historic or contemporary; its infrastructures; its open spaces and gardens; its land use patterns and “spatial organization”. It proposes policies and spatial forms for its reconstruction according to the HUL’s principles: more specifically, it proposes plans and strategies for the historic center’s regeneration in the fields of land uses, building regulations, transportation networks, and green public spaces, taking into account several factors: the inhabitants, the stakeholders, UNESCO’s regulations, and the cultural value of the built environment. Finally, it underlines the importance of community engagement for the city’s regeneration in terms of HUL. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Cultural Heritage in Promoting the Sustainable Development of Cities and Territories)

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17 pages, 2720 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Relevance and Role of Contemporary Architecture Preservation—Assessing and Evaluating Architectural Heritage as a Contemporary Landscape: A Study Case in Southern Italy

by Daniele Ronsivalle

Sustainability 2023, 15(5), 4132; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054132 - 24 Feb 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1821

Abstract

Since WWII to the 2000s, numerous masters of contemporary architecture have contributed to the construction of new landscapes with their works; therefore, these places have become part of a changing landscape and of the multifaceted process of landscape generation. Nevertheless, during this fifty-year [...] Read more.

Since WWII to the 2000s, numerous masters of contemporary architecture have contributed to the construction of new landscapes with their works; therefore, these places have become part of a changing landscape and of the multifaceted process of landscape generation. Nevertheless, during this fifty-year period, capitalism has led to the destruction of many existing landscapes, and the policies of protection and preservation have often entailed a process of musealization. In 2000, the European Landscape Convention adopted a new common-grounded definition of landscape, integrating a wide set of cultural approaches and disciplinary topics. Starting from the assumption that contemporary architecture and urban projects can generate high-quality landscapes, this paper investigates the link between the architecture and the landscape, taking the opportunity to catalogue the second half of twentieth-century architecture and urban projects in Sicily as part of the national cataloguing activity “Ereditare il Presente” promoted by the Italian Ministry of Culture. Using the Ministry-proposed cataloguing procedure and adding a quality assessment methodology of buildings and urban projects, this study has produced a theoretical and applicative advancement on how architecture and urban projects of the second half of the twentieth century should be offered as a dynamic component of sustainable human settlement planning under SDG11 “sustainable cities and communities”. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Cultural Heritage in Promoting the Sustainable Development of Cities and Territories)

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26 pages, 27740 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hydrogeography-Based Fabric Assessment of Heritage Warehouses

by Naai-Jung Shih and Yu-Chen Wu

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1491; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021491 - 12 Jan 2023

Viewed by 1200

Abstract

Brick warehouses represent a form of heritage at a different level of reactivation. Interdisciplinary exploration of social, cultural, and economic development has raised questions regarding the roles these buildings played in the past and how the heritage continued to evolve with the surrounding [...] Read more.

Brick warehouses represent a form of heritage at a different level of reactivation. Interdisciplinary exploration of social, cultural, and economic development has raised questions regarding the roles these buildings played in the past and how the heritage continued to evolve with the surrounding fabric. This study aimed to explore the spatiotemporal relationship between nine red brick warehouses and the historical development of the urban fabric in the Taipei metropolitan area, Taiwan. The relationship was defined by the quantitative trend assessment of the architecture, river, tributaries, and railroad, based on maps created between 1890 and 2020. The interactions between warehouses and fabric comprised single, meta, and determining indicators. The interactions evolved between two trends comprising intersections, maturity, and fluctuation. The consistent development of the architecture’s ascending trend was used as a reference indicator, by a relative scale to the fully developed stage of 100%. The meta-relationship between trends had a higher percentage and a greater occurrence closer to the present. The percentage totaled 67.74% after 1945 and remained above 50%, another indicator of the evolving frequency and intensity. The nine warehouses, which were part of a tributary branch system, created 11 intersections between 1950 and 1990. We concluded that the former active, supportive role of warehouses changed to a passive role, corresponding to the instrumentation of all trends. The warehouses functioned as trendsetters and interacted with the fabrics in a sustainable urbanization process. This was caused by role substitution, fabric replacement, degenerated dependence, and a diverted two-way relationship with hydrogeography. A geographic distribution of development was demonstrated from the river mouth inland. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Cultural Heritage in Promoting the Sustainable Development of Cities and Territories)

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19 pages, 1504 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Culture-Based Practices as Driver of Local Development Processes in Mountain Areas—Evidence from the Alpine Region of the Province of Cuneo (Italy)

by Maria Anna Bertolino and Federica Corrado

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 13713; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142113713 - 22 Oct 2022

Viewed by 1512

Abstract

Over the last few decades, Alpine communities have been affected by many social, cultural, economic and demographic changes that have challenged the hegemonic development models of the 20th century and questioned the city–country cleavage. Nevertheless, the huge potential expressed by culture-based practices in [...] Read more.

Over the last few decades, Alpine communities have been affected by many social, cultural, economic and demographic changes that have challenged the hegemonic development models of the 20th century and questioned the city–country cleavage. Nevertheless, the huge potential expressed by culture-based practices in low-density areas—such as the Alps—still represents an unexplored field of research. In order to progress in research in the field, through the analysis of a case study in the Italian Western Alps (Cuneo, Piedmont Region), the article proposes a new methodology of analysis and highlights that new places of cultural production are emerging and that the related culture-based practices can play the role of driver of innovative and sustainable development paths. Based on the results of the case-study analysis, the article presents a taxonomy of new practices in which the binomial culture–territory acts as a driver and explores how these processes can be transferred to similar contexts, in particular, other low-density areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Cultural Heritage in Promoting the Sustainable Development of Cities and Territories)

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21 pages, 3826 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Post-Soviet Suburbanization as Part of Broader Metropolitan Change: A Comparative Analysis of Saint Petersburg and Riga

by Guido Sechi, Dmitrii Zhitin, Zaiga Krisjane and Maris Berzins

Sustainability 2022, 14(13), 8201; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14138201 - 05 Jul 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2600

Abstract

Studies on post-socialist suburbanization, which originally focused on demand side dynamics and linear narratives of modernization, have progressively adopted more holistic approaches that consider the various dimensions and factors behind the phenomenon. However, there are still significant gaps and shortcomings affecting this research [...] Read more.

Studies on post-socialist suburbanization, which originally focused on demand side dynamics and linear narratives of modernization, have progressively adopted more holistic approaches that consider the various dimensions and factors behind the phenomenon. However, there are still significant gaps and shortcomings affecting this research domain; studies encompassing demand side and supply side dynamics are rare, and so are comparative perspectives. The phenomenon has rarely been analyzed in the context of broader metropolitan change, together with other dynamics such as inner-city gentrification, degradation, or maintenance/regeneration of socialist era residential neighborhoods. This study addresses the mentioned gaps through a multi-dimensional comparative pilot analysis of suburban dynamics in Saint Petersburg and Riga. The analysis encompasses the spatial extent of demographic, socioeconomic, and housing market dynamics within the broader context of metropolitan change. The findings reveal a picture of a demographically and economically significant phenomenon with remarkable implications for macro- and micro-level socio-spatial segmentation; the distinctive features between the two cases are primarily due to migration dynamics and the short/medium term effects of the 2008 financial crisis on the real estate market and industry. Overall, the suburban option appears to be an attractive option for the demand side (in terms of an economic trade-off or societal aspiration) as well as a safe and profitable option for developers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Cultural Heritage in Promoting the Sustainable Development of Cities and Territories)

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