Smart Heritage: The Role of Heritage in the Cities of the Future

Dear Colleagues,

Smart heritage stands at the convergence of the fields of smart technology and heritage and plays a significant role in heritage documentation, promotion, and interpretation. It is supported by the rapid development and proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in smart cities in several fields, such as transportation, urban planning, construction, and energy, among others. A new generation of smart city initiatives has emerged in which heritage is increasingly important, and many applications permit interaction with cultural assets, thus transforming and enhancing the perceived cultural experience. This Special Issue explores the potential of smart cities’ new tools to foster interdisciplinary perspectives in the management, presentation, representation, and effective dissemination of heritage information.

This Special Issue explores the opportunities and challenges at the intersection of the disciplines of smart cities and heritage and highlights the latest advancements in the field. This Special Issue solicits research related to smart heritage and the role of heritage in the cities of the future. Authors are encouraged to submit articles presenting original and innovative studies that address new challenges and implications in smart heritage. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• The role of artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) in heritage rescue preparedness, emergency, and safeguarding;
• Digital infrastructures and smart heritage;
• Smart heritage and sustainable development;
• Big data analytics in smart heritage;
• Smart heritage and citizen engagement;
• Smart cities and cultural tourism;
• Smart heritage and extended reality (XR);
• Smart heritage and the metaverse;
• Smart heritage and digital twins;
• Smart cities, digital heritage, and ethics;
• Smart heritage and digital data reuse.

Prof. Dr. Efstratios Stylianidis
Dr. Stella Sylaiou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Heritage is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• metaverse
• artificial intelligence
• Internet of Things (IoT)
• extended reality (XR)
• tools and platforms for smart heritage
• sustainable development and smart heritage
• smart cities’ tourism and digital heritage
• smart heritage and digital data reuse
• smart cities, digital heritage, and ethics