Speaker
Description
The issue of enhancing cultural heritage increasingly intersects with the significant challenges of contemporary society - climate change, depletion of non-renewable resources, social inequalities, and the crisis of the welfare State - all of which are leading to significant changes in the socio-economic and spatial models of territories. Over the last decade, the concept of Cultural Heritage (CH) has undergone a paradigm shift, focusing more on its social implications and human interactions as part of “territorial cultural systems” (Nigro, 2007), key resource for making cities and human settlements “inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” (Agenda 2030). In this perspective, heritage becomes an active resource that creates new meeting spaces, community hubs, and places of social inclusion, essential for identity processes linked to integrated enhancement projects.
In line with this idea, the European Year of Cultural Heritage has positioned cultural heritage as a resource for the future, putting local communities at the centre, promoting accessibility and supporting public development (COM, 2018). An important role is being recognised for culture in urban welfare policies, which requires a multidisciplinary approach to conceptualise heritage as a public good and local identity (Biehl, 2015). This vision highlights the systemic and relational nature of the concept of heritage as a common good (Leoni, 2020). It is therefore essential to manage and plan the transformation of cities, promoting a different growth model based on existing heritage, and on the centrality of open public space as possible widespread network of use and accessibility.
This paper presents a study carried out by the DiARC-UNINA group, developed within the WP4 - Spoke 1 of the PE5 CHANGES research project "Cultural Heritage Active Innovation for Next-Gen Sustainable Society", entitled "Strategies4Changes". The article reflects on the importance and role of cultural heritage as a catalyst for services and urbanity in a new welfare system through public space understood as an active resource for the sustainable development of territories and the improvement of quality of life. The case study focuses on the Campi Flegrei area, a fragile and endangered landscape, where rampant land consumption has led to a gradual depletion of territorial resources. The uncontrolled growth of urban areas in restricted and high-risk zones has disfigured the landscape and even contributed to reducing the quality of the living environment and the attractiveness of the places. “Landscapes of Ordinary” characterized in part by a spontaneous settlement fabric that sacrifices the 'space between things' and a public dimension of living marked by introversion, monofunctionality and degradation. This condition requires a new approach to housing, starting with a renewed relationship with the key resources of the territory - the cultural heritage - for the definition of a new welfare system.
The research outlines a study methodology aimed at developing guidelines for urban planning, articulated through the definition of interpretative frameworks that address the relationship between cultural heritage and welfare, identifying three different dimensions: (i) cultural heritage and illegal settlements, in the absence of institutional control; (ii) cultural heritage and public heritage, in the absence of well-being and spatial quality, as a result of processes of privatisation and fragmentation of public spaces; (iii) cultural heritage and abandonment, in the absence of maintenance and management. These critical issues form the basis of a reflection that supports the concept of cultural heritage as a new form of welfare, based on a relationship of stewardship, recognition and interdependence between heritage and communities as a co-produced outcome of collective action. This perspective is based on a proximity approach - micro-neighbourhood units - characterised by homogeneity in terms of cultural heritage and services, where the presence of a community dimension can be recognised.
References
Biel F. et al (eds) (2015), Identity and Heritage. Contemporary Challenges in a Globalized World. Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London.
European Commission (2014). Verso un approccio integrato al patrimonio culturale per l'Europa. Bruxelles.
European Commission (2018). Una nuova agenda europea per la cultura. Bruxelles.
Leoni G. (2020). Cultural Heritage as a Common, in G. Leoni (eds) Cultural Heritage Leading Urban Futures Actions and Innovations from Rock Project. TU Delft Open Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environement, Delft University of Technology.
Nigro F. (eds) (2007). Cultura e territorio. I sistemi culturali territoriali. Milan: Carocci editore
| Keywords | welfare; cultural heritage; common good; community heritage; |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
