Participatory Process for Regenerating Rural Areas through Heritage-Led Plans: The RURITAGE Community-Based Methodology

Abstract

Rural areas in Europe host more than 55% of the overall population and embed a unique and peculiar cultural and natural heritage. Nevertheless, they are facing common issues of disengagement, depopulation and economic and social crises. Rural communities are increasingly interested in setting up inclusive and participatory regeneration processes, but participatory planning experiences in rural areas are still limited. This paper introduces the Community-based Heritage Management and Planning methodology (CHMP) developed within the RURITAGE project, and analyzes and presents the results of its implementation in six demonstrators around Europe and beyond. The methodology is based on the establishment of Rural Heritage Hubs (RHH), intended as the community of local stakeholders and a physical place to run the co-creation activities. We used four types of feedback—online survey, in-presence survey, consultations and interviews with RHH Coordinators—to analyze the implementation of the CHMP. The research findings show that through built capital (RHH places activated) and through the activation of local social and human capitals (RHH communities engaged in the process), participatory processes can attract local communities and engage them into the development and the implementation of local regeneration plans, fostering heritage ownership and inclusion.

Digital Tools to Serve Geotourism and Sustainable Development at Psiloritis UNESCO Global Geopark in COVID Times and Beyond

“…Psiloritis UGGp, through its main partner, the Natural History Museum of the University of Crete, is participating in a HORIZON 2020 research project entitled RURITAGE, focusing on the rural regeneration through local heritage [60]. RURITAGE consists of a large consortium with thirty-eight partners from fourteen EU countries and four more from the rest of the world, and is coordinated by the University of Bologna in Italy (www.ruritage.eu).…”

How Are Historical Villages Changed? A Systematic Literature Review on European and Chinese Cultural Heritage Preservation Practices in Rural Areas

“…In other cases, in European countries, where the tradition of heritage conservation is strong and social capital is abundant [19,20], preservation practices concerning both physical spaces and the cultural identities of local communities have resulted in a value-oriented and people-centered approach thanks to a rather long-term vision informing the measures and strategies applied [21][22][23]. In Europe, rural heritage preservation has been one of the principal parts of the Local Development Program, which has widely impacted on the policies and practices.…”

Counterbalancing the Development Territorial Disparities in the Implementation of the Community-Led Local Development EU Approach in Romania

“…Rural areas cover 90% of the European Union's (EU) territory and host more than half of its population. For decades, those areas have been facing some important socioeconomic and demographic challenges, such as high unemployment, population decline, migration, low levels of income, and high dependency ratios on the agricultural sector [1][2][3]. For those reasons, rural development became one of the most important subjects of the EU's common agricultural policy (CAP), with a strong focus on the multi-functionality of agricultural activities, economic diversification, innovation and knowledge transfer, and the resilience of cultural and environmental heritage [1].…”