Search Results (1,924)

Sustainable management of cultural heritage in mountainous regions requires effective strategies to mitigate natural hazards such as landslides. Landslide susceptibility mapping (LSM) provides a critical tool to support these conservation efforts. This study presents a hybrid framework that integrates probabilistic slope stability modeling with ensemble learning for LSM in the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama, Japan. The framework uses probabilities of failure from Bishop’s simplified method combined with Monte Carlo simulations to guide non-landslide sample selection. An enhanced tri-parametric optimization was applied to refine the slope unit segmentation process. SHAP analysis revealed that the hybrid framework emphasizes physically meaningful features such as rainfall. The proposed method results in AUC gains of 0.072 for XGBoost, 0.066 CatBoost for, and 0.063 for LightGBM compared to their buffer-based counterparts. Future landslide susceptibility was mapped based on the 2035 precipitation projections from ARIMA time-series modeling. By enhancing accuracy, interpretability, and geotechnical consistency, the proposed approach delivers a robust tool for sustainable risk management. The study further evaluates the exposure of Gasshō-style houses and other historic buildings to varying levels of landslide susceptibility, offering actionable insights for local planning and heritage conservation. Full article

Digital preservation of traditional villages predominantly focuses on structural data restoration, struggling to integrate historical context, ecological wisdom, and spatial integrity. This study explores sustainable applications of gamified digital media in safeguarding traditional village cultural heritage. Taking Sanshan Island on Lake Taihu in Suzhou as the case study, oblique photography collected foundational spatial data. Combined with Revit, this data constructed a high-precision 3D village model, which was then gamified through the Unity interactive platform. Findings indicate that gamification technology, centred on real-time 3D interaction, not only demonstrates superior performance in application interactivity, visual stability, and environmental integration but also transcends the limitations of static data recording. By constructing immersive narrative spaces, it deeply integrates fragmented historical information, ecological wisdom, and physical spaces, propelling heritage conservation from ‘data restoration’ to ‘living narratives’. This gamified conservation methodology, integrating interdisciplinary technologies, offers a groundbreaking perspective for the digital preservation of traditional village cultural heritage. It simultaneously highlights the unique potential of games as a novel digital medium in the contemporary translation of heritage value. Full article

As urbanisation accelerates, land-use planning has become a challenging factor in cities’ sustainable development. This process is based both on the historical heritage of Central and Eastern European cities and on concepts combining urban planning with ecology. Cemeteries, traditionally viewed as places of remembrance, hold significant potential as ecological assets within urban environments. On the other hand, they are problematic in relation to the location, neighbourhood, and form of past/present human activity. Many of these aspects are regulated in the investigated countries. This paper examines sustainable cemetery planning from legal, ecological, and spatial perspectives, highlighting their role in addressing environmental challenges while preserving cultural and social values. The research draws on comparative case studies from eight Central and Eastern European countries, combining an analysis of international and national legal frameworks with a functional–spatial assessment of cemetery surroundings. In addition, an environmental survey conducted among experts and residents highlights diverse perceptions regarding cemetery functions and their integration into urban landscapes. The findings demonstrate that policy-based management and multifunctional design are essential for enhancing the ecological, cultural, and social value of cemeteries. Reframing cemeteries as multifunctional green spaces offers a practical pathway toward more resilient and environmentally responsible urban development. Some important differences between the following countries have been observed. Full article

Palm oil (Elaeis guineensis), one of the most widely used vegetable oils globally, originates from West Africa and has played a significant role in food, health care, and historical trade networks. It holds cultural, historical, ecological and symbolic significance in Bahia, Brazil. Unlike industrial monocultures, Bahia’s dendê economy is rooted in biodiverse landscapes, maintained through artisanal methods and generational knowledge. Yet, this traditional system faces mounting pressures from deforestation, declining artisanal production, and the industrialization of palm oil supply chains. Parallel to these ecological and economic threats is the abandonment of Bahia’s historical processing infrastructure: many traditional mills and industrial heritage sites have been lost, eroding both tangible and intangible cultural landscapes. These shifts have profound implications for the Baianas do Acarajé, the iconic street vendors who embody the matriarchal cultural lineage and rely on high-quality, traditionally produced dendê for their Afro-Brazilian cuisine. The increasing cost and reduced availability of artisanal oil compromise not only their livelihoods but also the authenticity of comidas de azeite, diminishing a sensory and symbolic culinary tradition. This study adopts a rigorous interdisciplinary methodology, synthesizing ethnography, heritage science, and engineering principles to explore how these artisanal practices can help us solve modern industrial sustainability problems. This article argues that Bahia’s palm oil heritage embodies a multifaceted heritage, spanning religious, economic, ecological, and cultural dimensions, that remains under-recognized and vulnerable. Drawing from UNESCO’s framework of intangible cultural heritage, the study not only details how these practices are transmitted across generations through the matriarchal culinary lineage, but ultimately advances three core contributions, analyzing artisanal performance, proposing a transferable sustainability framework, and outlining actionable pathways, to demonstrate that local communities are co-designers of solutions whose heritage offers a proven blueprint to address contemporary industrial sustainability challenges, calling for informed recognition and support to safeguard this essential component of Brazil’s Afro-descendant cultural identity. Full article

Trails in heritage sites are useful ways to engage visitors with the place. Sensory trails proposed in this paper, engaged with the sensory walking method, are designed purposefully to engage the multi-sensory features onsite with prompts to link to the historic sensory elements that have historic and cultural meanings to the heritage sites. Two questions are asked: (1) What process can we follow to design sensory heritage trails? (2) What criteria can be used to evaluate and guide the sensory features on site and from historic documentations? Taking design research as the overarching methodology, this paper reflects on the creation of two sensory trails, Sensing Beyond the Roundhouse and Sensing Around the Anglesey Column, following the Double Diamond framework developed by UK Design Council. An iterative design framework was developed, beginning with the identification of constraints and sensory opportunities through site observations, document analysis, and stakeholder interviews, which leads to interpretations of sensory features to shape storylines and route planning informed by user analysis. It is followed by representing the trails through sensory maps and other low-cost creative formats and then validating proposed trails with communities and stakeholders via pilot walks and feedback sessions. Four criteria are generated to assess sensory features based on engagement and authenticity: their contribution to the authentic historic atmosphere of the site; their ability to trigger imagination and evoke nostalgia; their distinctiveness and relevance to the site’s heritage narratives; and their capacity to encourage physical interaction and embodied engagement. The discussion part argues that sensory trails can be used as place-based strategies to inform urban planning and development around the heritage site through three pathways: catalyst for improvements and developments, connect isolated heritage sites, generate place-based knowledge. Full article

Industrial heritage, as a vital carrier of industrial civilization, is a key resource for advancing regional sustainable development. Understanding its spatial distribution and influencing factors is essential for effective conservation and revitalization. This study examines 207 industrial heritage sites in Hebei Province, one of the birthplaces of modern industry in China. By integrating multiple spatial analytical methods, it explores the spatial patterns and influencing factors of industrial heritage. A progressive analytical framework combining GeoDetector, Ordinary Least Squares, and Geographically Weighted Regression models was established to interpret formation mechanisms from factor identification to global and local heterogeneity. Results show that industrial heritage in Hebei forms high-density clusters along the eastern coast and southwestern hinterland, with lower densities in the north and central regions. The spatial centroid shifted from the center to the northeast, then to the southwest, and finally returned to the center. The distribution is shaped by the synergistic interaction of multiple factors: railway networks exert the strongest influence, natural conditions provide fundamental constraints, cultural factors play a reinforcing role, and historical development and policy orientation act as regulatory forces. Region-specific strategies are proposed to guide the conservation and sustainable transformation of industrial heritage in old industrial cities. Full article

Ensuring good air quality in indoor environments of historical and artistic significance is essential not only for protecting valuable artworks but also for safeguarding human health. While many studies in this field tend to focus on the preservation of cultural heritage, fewer have addressed the impact on visitors and worshippers. Yet, places such as museums, galleries, churches, and other religious sites attract large numbers of people, making indoor air quality a key factor for their well-being. This study focused on evaluating air quality within the Santuario della Beata Vergine dei Miracoli in Saronno, Italy, a religious site that welcomes large numbers of visitors and worshippers each year. A detailed analysis of particulate matter was conducted, including chemical characterization by ICP-MS for metals, ion chromatography for water-soluble ions, and thermal–optical analysis for the carbonaceous fraction, as well as assessments of size distribution and radiometric properties. The results indicated overall good air quality conditions: concentrations of heavy metals were below levels of concern (<35 ng m⁻³), and gross alpha, beta, and ¹³⁷Cs activity concentrations remained below the minimum detectable thresholds. Hence, no significant health risks were identified. Full article

Post-industrial landscapes represent one of the most complex challenges for contemporary sustainable land management, as they combine environmental degradation, cultural heritage, and socio-economic restructuring. This study examines five representative post-industrial sites within the Dąbrowa Basin (southern Poland), selected from an initial pool of 20 locations to capture the full diversity of contemporary transformation pathways. The research integrates multi-temporal satellite imagery (1999–2025), historical maps (1936, 1965), extensive field surveys, and a systematic review of literature and regional press to assess environmental, functional, and cultural dimensions of landscape change. The results reveal four distinct transformation trajectories: hydrological reclamation, heritage-led revitalization, passive ecological succession, economic redevelopment, and one additional case of unmanaged degradation. Hydrological and cultural revitalization produced the most sustainable outcomes, characterized by high environmental stability, strong public accessibility, and preserved industrial identity. Natural succession created ecologically valuable but functionally limited spaces, while commercial redevelopment ensured economic stability at the cost of industrial memory. Sites lacking coordinated revitalization remain unsafe, inaccessible, and environmentally unstable. The study demonstrates that post-industrial transformation is strongly influenced by municipal engagement, land ownership, historical legacy, and the interaction between natural and engineered processes. These findings contribute to the international discourse on sustainable post-industrial redevelopment and highlight the need for integrated, cross-sectoral strategies supporting multifunctional, resilient landscapes in Central Europe. Full article

Oil tanker shipwrecks represent both cultural heritage and environmental risk. These wrecks are historically significant as war graves and simultaneously pose long-term threats to marine ecosystems through the potential release of petroleum cargo. During World War II, German U-boats targeted tankers along the U.S. East Coast, especially during Operation Drumbeat in 1942. Hundreds of tankers were sunk globally, and many of these wrecks remain intact and retain much of their fuel cargo, classifying them as potentially polluting wrecks (PPWs) which could release millions of gallons of oil if hull structures collapse. Tankers developed from modified sailing ships to standardized steel designs, highlighting petroleum’s strategic importance in modern warfare. The wrecks of these vessels exemplify the intersection of maritime archeology and environmental conservation, demanding urgent interdisciplinary study to safeguard ecosystems while preserving ocean heritage. Full article

The Songliao River Basin, as a core area of multicultural integration in Northeast China, still lacks systematic research on the spatial distribution of religious sites and their influencing factors. This study integrates spatial pattern analysis methods (kernel density, standard deviation ellipse, imbalance index) and spatial econometric models (spatial error model, geographically weighted regression model) to explore the spatial distribution characteristics of 1288 religious sites in the basin and the influencing mechanisms of natural, socio-economic, and cultural factors. Results: (1) Religious sites in the basin show a clustered distribution of “higher density in the south than the north, one main cluster and two sub-cores”, with a northeast–southwest trend and poor balance at the prefectural-city scale. (2) Cultural factors are the core driver; cultural memory and social capital in traditional villages promote the agglomeration of religious sites and shape the “one village, multiple temples” pattern. Intangible Cultural Heritage, Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level, and religious sites form a tripartite symbiotic spatial relationship of “cultural practice—spatial carrier—institutional identity”; natural factors lay the basic pattern of spatial distribution. (3) Policy factors have a significant impact: A-rated Tourist Attractions and Performing Arts Venues show a positive effect, while museums exhibit spatial inhibition due to functional competition. (4) Economic, Population, and Transportation factors had no statistically significant effects, indicating that their spatial distribution is driven primarily by endogenous cultural mechanisms rather than external economic drivers. This study fills the gap in research on the spatial distribution of religious sites in Northeast China. By integrating multiple methods, a quantitative demonstration of the coupling mechanism of multiple factors was conducted, providing scientific support for religious cultural heritage protection policies and sustainable development strategies amid rapid urbanization. Full article

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is deeply embedded in everyday social life, yet its officially recognized spatial distribution reflects both the independent influences of cultural traditions, development trajectories, and governance practices, and the complex interactions among them. Focusing on 494 national-level ICH items across ten categories in Jiangsu(J), Zhejiang(Z), and Shanghai(H), this study adopts a social-geographical perspective to examine both the spatio-temporal evolution and the driving mechanisms of ICH recognition in one of China’s most developed regions. After rigorous verification of point-based ICH locations, we combine kernel density estimation and the average nearest neighbor index to trace changes across five batches of national designation, and then employ the univariate and interaction detectors of the Geodetector model to assess the effects of 28 natural, socioeconomic, and cultural-institutional variables. The results show, first, that ICH exhibits significant clustering along river corridors and historical cultural belts, with a persistent high-density core in the Shanghai–southern Jiangsu–northern Zhejiang zone and a clear shift over time from highly concentrated to more dispersed and territorially balanced recognition. Second, human-environment factors—especially factors such as urban and rural income and consumption; residents’ education and cultural expenditures; and public education and cultural facilities—have far greater explanatory power than natural conditions, while different ICH categories embed distinctively in urban and rural socio-economic contexts. Third, bivariate interactions reveal that natural and macroeconomic “background” variables are strongly amplified when combined with demographic and cultural factors, whereas interactions among strong human variables show bivariate enhancement with diminishing marginal returns. In summary, these findings enrich international debates on the geography of ICH by clarifying how recognition processes align with regional development and social equity agendas, and they provide a quantitative basis for category-sensitive, place-based strategies that coordinate income policies, public cultural services, and the joint safeguarding of tangible and intangible heritage in both urban renewal and rural revitalization planning. Full article

This study presents the e[kent-im] model, a map-based crowdsourcing initiative that digitizes and safeguards urban memory and cultural heritage through community participation and digital tools. The model facilitates the collection, archiving, and dissemination of urban memories by fostering intergenerational knowledge transfer and encouraging civic engagement in heritage preservation. Implemented in the historical center of Kütahya/Türkiye, the project gathered 150 memories and stories from 12 senior participants aged 50–85, which were linked to 303 historical visuals sourced from personal archives. These materials were integrated into a custom-designed web and mobile interface (Mapotic Pro) enriched with metadata categories such as type, period, and location, enabling users to filter and navigate content effectively and watch the videos enriched with participant narratives. A digital city archive matrix was also developed to systematically organize the collected data and support the web-based platform. To assess the platform’s effectiveness, a pilot study with 15 young participants aged 18–28 was conducted. During a self-guided city tour, participants engaged with historical content on the platform and provided feedback through pre- and post-test evaluations. Results indicated heightened awareness of and interest in cultural heritage, demonstrating the model’s potential as both an interactive archive and a tool facilitating intergenerational heritage awareness. Overall, this study highlights the model’s adaptability, scalability, and capacity to bridge generational and technological divides. Full article

This research proposes a hierarchical adaptive approach to urban renewal that seeks to reconcile heritage preservation with contemporary functional demands in historic urban environments. Focusing on cultural and sports public facilities in the northwestern urban–rural interface of Rome, the research identifies critical mismatches between facility typologies, user groups, and mobility patterns, including fragmented connectivity, child-exclusionary environments, and unsafe pedestrian–vehicular interactions. A three-tiered intervention framework is developed, comprising minimal intervention for heritage-preserved structures, semi-intervention for high-use contemporary facilities, and full intervention for generic or underutilized buildings and undeveloped land. Using field surveys, GIS-based spatial analysis, and visualized performance metrics, the study evaluates how vertical functional superposition, independent pedestrian systems, and transitional connectors can enhance spatial legibility, accessibility, and social inclusiveness. The results show that hierarchical adaptive renewal improves pedestrian safety, strengthens functional integration between cultural–sports facilities and adjacent residential areas, and activates underused spaces while maintaining the integrity of Rome’s historic fabric. Beyond the case study, the framework offers a transferable model for other high-density historic cities seeking to balance heritage protection, everyday usability, and sustainable urban development. Full article

The energy efficiency of historic buildings is the focus of activities aimed at developing replicable methodologies for implementing innovative technological solutions. In line with this priority, the Sicilian Region has launched a project for the energy retrofitting of 91 heritage sites and buildings across the region. To support the decision-making process, this paper defines criteria and indicators for assessing the compatibility and effectiveness of energy efficiency upgrade solutions for buildings of cultural value. The goal of improving energy performance is framed within broader performance targets, including enhancing user experience, promoting cultural activities for users’ creative growth, and carrying out restoration works to strengthen the identity of the pre-existence. The criteria result from a thorough analysis of the current scientific debate on the energy efficiency of heritage buildings and have been validated through their application to the case study of Palazzo Belmonte-Riso, a listed building in the historical centre of Palermo (Italy). The suggested criteria provide guidance for evaluating implemented projects and developing new design solutions. The research proposes a holistic and multidisciplinary approach aligned with the New European Bauhaus, promoting creative and innovative solutions that embody sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusiveness in addressing key issues on the European Agenda. Full article

Integrating Saudi Arabia’s traditional architecture with modern technology enhances national identity and blends modernity and authenticity. The current study analyzes socio-cultural sustainability and its implications for the preservation of Saudi architectural identity. This research employs a cross-scale qualitative method grounded in the analysis of two case studies to examine the socio-cultural sustainability of contemporary architectural interventions within historical contexts in Saudi Arabia. This study investigates how architectural Saudi heritage elements are reinterpreted in modern designs at different spatial scales through an urban-scale project (Al Bujairi Terrace, Diriyah) and a building-scale project (Design Space AlUla). The analysis includes two case studies at both macro and micro levels, showcasing the blending of traditional Saudi design fundamentals and contemporary practices, thereby demonstrating the potential for sustainable architecture that respects socio-cultural aspects. The case studies were selected for their location near UNESCO World Heritage sites, enabling an evaluation of how these projects have added value and interacted with nearby heritage sites. The findings emphasize that a socio-culturally sustainable approach to architecture not only supports national identity but also fosters social cohesion, community participation, and environmental balance to cultivate contemporary Saudi architecture that embodies national identity. Full article