Planning Perspectives and Approaches for Activating Underground Built Heritage

Abstract

This paper delivers actionable recommendations towards building a rationale for activating and promoting Underground Built Heritage (UBH) based on the nexus heritage, territory and society, and making use of existing literature and findings from five international cases. The research was conducted in the framework of the working group on Planning Approaches of the COST Action Underground4value. The analysis of the cases aims to provide guidelines for this working group and to benchmark good practices in activating UBH. It highlights the importance of community-led initiatives, leadership and dialogue and power sharing between the local/regional authorities and communities aiming for better understanding of the potential of UBH. The successes and/or failures of the five cases emphasise the importance of knowledge and experience in participatory approaches. Success was verified, when effectiveness and democratic principles were combined in the planning process, and local history is integrated with citizen science, co-creation and placemaking. The analysed approaches stimulate a new hybrid layer for activating UBH, provide mechanisms of mediation between people and heritage, and contribute to cultural and social dimensions of sustainability. This is a highly challenging endeavour, as it seeks to support and advance a sound understanding of UBH as a sustainable resource, backed by strategic stakeholder dialogue and contextual knowledge. Such effort requires a dynamic understanding of UBH values, knowledge, abilities and skills, towards creating more effective coalitions of “actors” within localities, by developing structures, which encourage long term collaborative relationships.

Participatory Budgeting and Placemaking: Concepts, Methods, and Practices

“…PB has arisen as an interesting form of citizen participation in urban development and, thus, as a new way of exercising placemaking and grassroots democracy. As a flexible planning and decision-making instrument, PB processes can run simultaneously with statutory planning systems (Smaniotto Costa, 2021;Taylor, 2019), enabling cities to better respond to local needs and circumstances. In addition to better use of citizen inputs, PB processes can improve citizens' capacity and experiences in negotiating their own interests (OECD, 2022a(OECD, , 2022b.…”

Smart Thinking on Co-Creation and Engagement: Searchlight on Underground Built Heritage

“…The term UBH refers thus to the rich diversity of manmade inherited underground assets, such as houses, cisterns, burial places, galleries, etc. Some examples are explored in the outcomes of this Action [3][4][5]. The Action 'Underground4Value' also aims at providing a better understanding of UBH as a catalyst for sustainable local development, which calls for community engagement.…”

“…The interaction between the beneath and the surface can be the anchor for responsive heritage awareness and smart action in cities. In this activating process, one has to consider functional, social and cultural factors along the legislative and regulatory frameworks [3].…”

“…This new perspective poses the question: can smart cities be achieved without community engagement and local knowledge? An answer to this question particularly necessary when the issue is tackling underground assets, which have distinct values and attributes, primarily discussed within the COST Action 'Underground4value' [2,3,10].…”