Special Issue "Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Tourism, Culture, and Heritage".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Lucia Marchegiani
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Business Studies, Roma Tre University, 00162 Rome, Italy
Interests: digital transformation; cultural heritage management; holistic impact assessment; digital ecosystems; organizational behviour
Prof. Dr. Enrico Cori
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of business organization, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60121 Ancona AN, Italy
Interests: inter-organizational networks in the cultural fields; digital technology and organizations

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is undoubtful that cultural heritage is subject to a perspective based on sustainability. As cultural heritage belongs to humanity, it should be preserved for future generations. Just like natural resources and the environment are common goods, cultural artefacts, such as urban landscapes, monuments, museums, are also “goods” that benefit specific communities. Moreover, they can be key elements for local development, helping to improve the community's quality of life. Yet, the relationship between sustainability, sustainable development and culture is highly debated and discussed. In fact, a universal understanding of culture in promoting sustainable development has not been reached yet. The so-called cultural turn in international aid and development (Labadi, 2019) gained momentum over the disillusionment of models based only on economic growth, in favour of a more central role of culture, people and human development. Numerous lobbying attempts have advocated for a central part of culture in the UN debate on sustainable development, such as the #culture2015goal, backed by ICOMOS and Culture Action Europe, among others. Nevertheless, neither the Millennium Development Goals (MDG 2000-2015) nor the more recent Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs - 2015-2030) defined by the United Nations, directly pay tribute to a central role of culture and cultural heritage as pillars of Sustainable Development. This matter has led to an interesting debate and juxtaposed opinions. Some others have quite a different opinion (Wiktor-Mach, 2020), stating that the SDGs “represent a significant step forward with regard to the acknowledgment of the role of culture in development processes” (Culture2030Goal campaign, 2019, p.26). Indeed, at a European level, cultural heritage is widely recognised as an important driver for sustainable development (Helly & Galeazzi, 2016).

Given this lively debate, this special issue aims at further inquiring and debating the role of cultural initiatives in the face of the most modern perspectives on sustainable development. In this vein, the Special Issue seeks articles that address this complex and multifaceted topic. In particular, we encourage the submission of original articles that consider the following, but not exclusively:

  • How cultural heritage valorization practices are related to sustainable goals and sustainable development;
  • The relation between people and cultural heritage, especially citizens’ well-being, sense of belonging, identity, and cultural memory, and its implications in terms of sustainable development;
  • Analysis of innovative and sustainable managerial practices of cultural initiatives and organisations and the economic impact of cultural interventions;
  • Theorizing of the sustainability side of how communities, organisations or individuals interrelate with cultural heritage;
  • Reflections on how environmental impacts are related to cultural heritage valorization, via for example tourism;
  • The impact of digital technologies on cultural heritage management and valorization.

Prof. Lucia Marchegiani
Prof. Enrico Cori
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 papers will be 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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 1900 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.

Keywords

  • sustainable cultural heritage management
  • cultural ecosystems
  • inclusion
  • participation
  • regeneration
  • cultural entrepreneurship

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Article
From Public Participation to Co-Creation in the Cultural Heritage Management Decision-Making Process
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9321; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169321 - 19 Aug 2021
Viewed by 263
Abstract
According to the ongoing discussions of researchers, practitioners, and international legislation, the prioritization of top-down decision-making processes in public participation is questionable due to their ambiguous outcomes in various contexts associated with the management of cultural heritage. The main aim of this paper [...] Read more.
According to the ongoing discussions of researchers, practitioners, and international legislation, the prioritization of top-down decision-making processes in public participation is questionable due to their ambiguous outcomes in various contexts associated with the management of cultural heritage. The main aim of this paper is to highlight and identify co-creation as a sustainable and significant bottom-up methodology that has a wide range of applications, especially in the domain of Cultural Heritage Management (CHM). It is presented as an alternative to the already existing, less democratic, and passive public participation decision-making processes. Examining the evolution of the terms and the processes, together with the common aspects and differences between public participation and co-creation is another goal of this paper. Based on these aims and goals, after conducting case study analyses in various contexts and comprehensive theoretical reviews of the international charters and ongoing practices associated with both key terms, “public participation” and “co-creation”, this paper introduces results that have the potential to solve the existing problems in public participation models and frameworks and successfully integrate communities into the CHM decision-making process through the implementation of the co-creation methodology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
The Construction of Placeness in Traditional Handicraft Heritage Sites: A Case Study of Suzhou Embroidery
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9176; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169176 - 16 Aug 2021
Viewed by 293
Abstract
Traditional handicrafts are rooted in the idea of the place, and their revival can trigger a construction of place in terms of physical buildings and cultural ambience. This study focuses on traditional Suzhou embroidery and analyses the effect of its revival on the [...] Read more.
Traditional handicrafts are rooted in the idea of the place, and their revival can trigger a construction of place in terms of physical buildings and cultural ambience. This study focuses on traditional Suzhou embroidery and analyses the effect of its revival on the construction of placeness and sustainable development within its specific social context. The results showed that (1) reviving traditional handicrafts triggers changes to local public spaces, the reshaping of local architecture, and the development of a cultural landscape; (2) The revival of the handicraft in terms of local activities is reflected in increased efficiency and creativity and in the stable inheritance of skills. The traditional farming lifestyle of Zhenhu has been transformed, leading to better quality of life and social networks; (3) The revival of Suzhou embroidery has updated the place through renovating its image. The local residents’ awareness of the benefits of their handicrafts has also increased, and their increased dependence on place will strengthen their belongingness and attachment to it. These local changes exert positive impact on the realization of sustainable goals by boosting decent work and economic growth, ensuring environmental sustainability, building sustainable cities and communities, and enhancing community stability and cultural diversity. Thus, the revival of handicrafts can guide a place to refocus on local economic growth and cultural development towards sustainable development, bringing about an organic inheritance of its history and the reinforcement of placeness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Reflections on Local Community Identity by Evaluating Heritage Sustainability Protection in Jugra, Selangor, Malaysia
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 8705; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168705 - 04 Aug 2021
Viewed by 297
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the value derived by the local community from cultural heritage and natural heritage in Jugra, Kuala Langat, as it has the potential to be a recognized heritage tourism site. The quantitative approach was used by [...] Read more.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the value derived by the local community from cultural heritage and natural heritage in Jugra, Kuala Langat, as it has the potential to be a recognized heritage tourism site. The quantitative approach was used by conducting a survey study. A total of 392 respondents among the local community were selected through a purposive sampling technique. The collected data were processed with SPSS software and analyzed using cross tabulation analysis. Then, several hypotheses were tested using AMOS software. The result showed that Jugra’s unique heritage elements positively influenced the respondent’s willingness to accept and fund its tourism development. Socioeconomic factors also influenced the respondents’ disposition to preserve heritage. The findings revealed that there was priceless value when respondents agreed with the development, although they had never visited the heritage sites. Their physical, economic, and social valuation made them proud of the heritage, as it is a reflection of their identity. This study also aims to emphasize the role of local community as one of the stakeholders, as they should also be able to benefit from tourism development. All these would help boost the tourism industry, particularly through the archaeo-tourism and eco-tourism perspectives. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop