Search Results (522)

Long-standing studies of historical cultural spaces have primarily focused on the preservation of heritage objects and landscapes, while insufficient attention has been paid to the structural relationships, land-use transformations, and cultural–ecological processes that sustain their long-term continuity. Taking the World Heritage site of Lijiang as a case, this study develops a three-dimensional structural decoding framework composed of spatial base, spatial network, and spatial entity, together with an analytical pathway of “Identification–Interpretation–Evaluation–Synthesis–Practice.” By integrating qualitative and quantitative approaches with multi-source data, the study establishes an evidence chain linking historical processes and contemporary conditions to examine the formation mechanisms, continuity, and contemporary deviations of Lijiang’s historical cultural space. The results show that terrain–habitat adaptability, water system coupling, and environmental risk avoidance shaped environmental adaptation; historical corridors, landscape perception, and core node associations organized spatial networks; and functional diversity, cultural capital agglomeration, and spatial-scale compatibility supported entity-based spatial practices. Although tourism development, urban expansion, and land-use transformation have not completely dismantled these historical relationships, they have caused localized deviations in ecological boundaries, path continuity, visual connections, functional vitality, and spatial scale. This study argues that the governance of historical cultural spaces should shift from preserving isolated heritage objects to sustaining cultural–ecological relationships that support memory, identity, spatial practice, and adaptive land governance. Full article

Traditional shellfish harvesting plays a crucial role in food security, local livelihoods and the preservation of cultural heritage in coastal communities. This study examined environmental, socioeconomic and circular economy perceptions associated with the artisanal fishery of the “black chinese” snail (Hexaplex nigritus) in the Navachiste Lagoon system, located in the south-eastern Gulf of California. A quantitative, exploratory–descriptive approach was employed using a structured Likert-scale questionnaire administered to 225 fishers. Four analytical dimensions were evaluated: environmental perception, personal-family-social, economic, and circular economy perception. Given the multidimensional nature of the questionnaire, the results were interpreted through item-level response patterns. An exploratory hierarchical cluster analysis using Ward’s method suggested greater similarity between environmental and economic perception profiles, without establishing a definitive relationship. The descriptive results indicated moderate environmental concern ($\overline{\mathrm{x}}$ = 3.12), high sociocultural value ($\overline{\mathrm{x}}$ = 4.49), a negative economic perception ($\overline{\mathrm{x}}$ = 2.32) associated with low income and dependence on intermediaries, and limited adoption of circular economy practices ($\overline{\mathrm{x}}$ = 1.36). It is concluded that, despite its cultural importance, surveyed fishers perceive that the fishery faces environmental pressures and economic constraints and shows an almost total lack of integration of circular economy practices. These findings underscore the potential importance of developing comprehensive policies to promote sustainable management, strengthen marketing, and foster a circular economy for the H. nigritus fishery with the aim of contributing to its long-term sustainability in the region. Full article

Ancient bridge heritage is an indispensable part of cultural heritage, but many are at risk of demolition due to urban and rural development and natural deterioration. Consequently, there is an urgent need for their protection and restoration. This study aims to explore a more systematic approach to the protection of ancient bridge heritage and provide a theoretical basis and methodological support for related practices. Drawing on the methods and perspectives of urban historical landscape, this study approaches this from the two perspectives of historical layering and environmental integrity, and constructs a spatiotemporal model of ancient bridge heritage that integrates the two. On this basis, a three-dimensional cognitive system covering the original value, social value, and cultural value is established, forming a systematic analysis framework. The research employed a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, including literature analysis and historical map analysis, remote sensing image interpretation and GIS spatial analysis, as well as field investigations and cross-validation with multiple data sources. Taking Beiyang Bridge in Wuhan as a case study, this study systematically reveals its multi-dimensional value characteristics, including the historical layering of the ancient bridge itself, the overall connection with the surrounding environment, and the social and cultural significance it carries. Based on the current status of Beiyang Bridge, this study proposes targeted protection and utilization suggestions from three aspects: the protection of the intrinsic value of the ancient bridge, the protection of environmental integrity, and the continuation of social and cultural value, providing a reference for the research on the value exploration, protection, and sustainable utilization of ancient bridge heritage. Full article

The article frames the co-design activities developed in Phase 3 of the DeinSite project, aimed at promoting product innovation in traditional craft districts through dialogue between young designers, artisans, museums, and SMEs in Southern Italy. It introduces the DeinSite Co-Design Framework, a replicable methodological model integrating three complementary types of co-design–Open, Participatory, and Prototype-Led Co-Design–that guide the entire design process, from field research to co-creation to digital experimentation. Within this framework, the article delves into the Manus Maris workshop, focused on cameo and coral, a key sector of Campania’s productive activity. The workshop interprets the marine environment as a creative, cultural, and productive ecosystem, inspiring new narratives and formal languages that combine artisanal memory and technological innovation. Through collaborative activities, physical–digital prototyping, and an intergenerational exchange between designers and craftsmen, Manus Maris has generated experimental jewellery collections reinterpreting the local tangible and intangible heritage. The findings highlight the framework’s potential as a tool for activating systemic innovation in Southern Italy’s artisanal districts, enhancing museums as cultural and production hubs and promoting new synergies between tradition and contemporary design. The proposed model is a transferable methodology, useful for regenerating “Handmade in Italy” supply chains and constructing territorial ecosystems oriented towards innovation, sustainability, and international competitiveness. Full article

Policies for cultural heritage protection have increasingly shifted toward the integrated conservation and development of historical cultural landscapes. In vernacular settlements located in the southwestern border regions of China, some cultural landscape remains that were once widespread are gradually disappearing. Nevertheless, these landscapes continue to be recognized, valued, and maintained by local ethnic communities. Understanding how place-based perceptions are formed, how hidden cultural landscapes can be identified, and how their cultural significance can be interpreted is therefore of considerable importance. Drawing on landscape perception theory, this study develops an analytical framework that integrates landscape structure interpretation, oral history analysis, and local ethnic group perception. The archaeological remains of the “Ancient Temple” in Baiya City, located within the Zhaozhou intermontane basin (“Bazi”) in Dali, are selected as a case study. Through field investigations, oral history interviews, and Semantic Differential (SD) scale questionnaires, perception factors are examined across four dimensions—environment, ritual, construction, and psychology—to systematically analyze the elements shaping spatial perception. The results reveal that, although local ethnic groups exhibit relatively low levels of perception regarding the architectural form of the ancient temple, they maintain strong psychological and emotional attachments to ritual pathways, ruin landscapes, and related cultural elements. The remains of the “Ancient Temple” constitute an implicit cultural landscape that plays a significant role in shaping local cultural identity and sense of place. At the same time, it reflects the community’s capacity for self-organization and the latent mechanisms underlying the reconstruction of cultural space. Based on these findings, strategies for cultural landscape regeneration should emphasize the preservation of indigenous spatial order, the revitalization of local ritual practices, and the strengthening of ethnic psychological identity. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the social functions and cultural significance of implicit cultural landscapes in contemporary urban and rural development and provides practical references for their conservation and regeneration. Full article

The concept of dark tourism has obtained significant attention in recent years, and its appeal to younger generations is a topic of great interest. This study examines the behavioral intentions of Generation Z towards dark tourism in Albania, a country with a strong cultural and historical heritage. Using a quantitative research design, the study collected data from 312 respondents and analyzed them using exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression. The results found several key variables that influence the behavioral intentions of Generation Z towards dark tourism, including attitude, motivations, social media, and perceived psychological risk. Interestingly, the study found that attitude is the strongest predictor of behavioral intentions towards dark tourism. This suggests that if young people have a positive attitude towards dark tourism, they are more likely to visit dark tourism sites. On the other hand, the variable of perceived psychological risk was found to have a negative influence on the behavioral intentions of Generation Z to visit dark tourism sites. This implies that if young people perceive dark tourism as risky or threatening, they are less likely to participate in it. The study contributes to dark tourism research by offering empirical evidence from Albania and by highlighting the importance of educational, reflective and ethically sensitive interpretation for Generation Z visitors. The findings of the study reveal the importance of developing tourism experiences that are not only educational and emotionally engaging, but also ethically based. This is particularly relevant for emerging destinations like Albania, where dark tourism remains underdeveloped despite its significant cultural and historical potential. By shaping tourism experiences for younger audiences, destinations like Albania can tap into the potential of dark tourism and offer unique, meaningful experiences for visitors. Full article

Urban public spaces contribute to sustainable urban development by supporting social interaction, cultural identity, pedestrian experience, environmental comfort and commercial vitality. However, limited comparative evidence explains how user satisfaction differs between public spaces shaped by contrasting spatial identities. This study compares Melaka Jonker Street (MJS), a heritage-oriented commercial public space, and Bukit Bintang Kuala Lumpur (BBKL), a contemporary commercial public space, to examine how selected urban space attributes shape user satisfaction and sustainability interpretation. A quantitative comparative survey involving 542 respondents was analysed using descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha, the Mann–Whitney U test, the Relative Importance Index (RII), comparative gap analysis, the User Satisfaction Balance Score (USBS) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The findings show that, within the shared attributes examined, MJS recorded stronger satisfaction patterns than BBKL, with the largest satisfaction gaps observed in accessibility, light sculpture, waterscape lighting and green elements. Satisfaction in MJS was mainly shaped by heritage identity, historical buildings, street art walls, water elements and accessibility, reflecting a cultural–environmental sustainability pattern. In contrast, satisfaction in BBKL was more closely associated with activity intensity, media architecture and contemporary visual experience, reflecting a socio-economic-commercial sustainability pattern. These results provide context-specific evidence that sustainable public space performance is shaped by the relationship between urban space attributes, spatial identity and everyday user experience. The findings contribute to urban design and public space research by integrating user satisfaction with sustainability interpretation and by providing context-sensitive planning and design implications for heritage-oriented and contemporary commercial public spaces in Malaysia. Full article

Cultural heritage assets in seismic metropolitan regions are increasingly exposed to interacting natural hazards, yet disaster risk assessments for historic buildings often remain limited to single-hazard interpretations. This study addresses this gap by developing a Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based multi-hazard risk assessment for Ferhatpaşa Mosque, a sixteenth-century Ottoman heritage asset located in Çatalca, Istanbul. Eight spatial parameters were evaluated at the neighborhood scale: slope, elevation, aspect, precipitation, distance to fault lines, distance to hydrological features, land use, and soil capability. The model was developed through Weighted Overlay analysis and interdisciplinary expert-based weighting. Distance to fault lines and precipitation received the highest weights, each accounting for 17.22% of the model, followed by distance to hydrological features and soil capability, each weighted at 13.89%. The final risk map classified 71.99% of the study area as medium risk, 28% as low risk, and 0.02% as high risk. Ferhatpaşa Mosque was located within the medium-risk zone, approximately 29,600 m from active fault lines, 250 m from the nearest dry streambed, 800 m from the nearest stream, and 320 m from the nearest high-risk zone. These findings demonstrate that the mosque’s risk profile is shaped not by seismic proximity alone, but by the cumulative interaction of topography, precipitation, hydrology, soil conditions, and land-use characteristics. The proposed model provides a spatial decision-support framework for integrating cultural heritage conservation into sustainable disaster risk reduction and local risk mitigation planning. Full article

Urban historic districts often present archaeological sites and historic buildings in a fragmented way, posing significant challenges for public understanding and enhancing heritage value. Solely physical conservation fails to fully communicate their cultural significance, while excessive commercialization often results in the erosion of cultural authenticity and the displacement of local communities. Drawing from cultural capital theory in sociology and cultural economics, this study redefines historical districts as sustainable urban cultural capital, comprising habituated, objectified, and institutionalized components. A Value Chain Model of Cultural Capital (VCMCC) is developed, consisting of three stages: cultural resource excavation, cultural asset cultivation, and cultural capital management. This model aims to empower heritage adaptive reuse and foster synergy between cultural heritage and economic development. Utilizing an embedded single-case design with longitudinal ethnography, the research focuses on the Western Han Archaeological Sites Historical District (WHAS HD) in Hanzhong, China. It involves multiple rounds of mixed-data collection from 2023 to 2025, on which design-based research is performed. This study operationalizes VCMCC through a series of spatially and socially grounded strategies. In the cultural resource excavation stage, superior resources are identified through a systematic review of historical archives, archaeological reports, and local gazetteers, along with surveys of architectural remains and spatial mapping. In the cultural asset cultivation stage, these resources are transformed into experiential and communicable cultural assets via a “one courtyard, one strategy” approach for activating courtyard functions, developing dual-theme heritage routes, and deploying digital interpretation tools. In the cultural capital management stage, a multi-stakeholder community committee is established, and binding institutional safeguards are integrated to ensure sustainable heritage adaptive reuse. Concurrently, a baseline indicator system covering three dimensions, cultural, social, and economic benefits, is developed to provide benchmarks for future post-intervention benefit evaluation and verification. The proposed and implemented VCMCC model translates cultural capital theory from an abstract explanatory framework into an actionable pathway for heritage adaptive reuse, offering theoretical and methodological guidance for the adaptive reuse of similar small and medium-sized historic districts. Full article

Recent advances in generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) have rapidly transformed research and practice across the Cultural Heritage domain. While several studies have investigated AI applications in documentation, analysis and dissemination, a focused and critical assessment of generative AI within 3D virtual reconstruction workflows is still lacking. This paper presents a systematic review of the literature addressing the use of generative AI in 3D heritage virtual reconstructions, with particular attention to methodological implications, scientific reliability and ethical challenges. A large-scale bibliographic analysis covering publications from 2015 to 2024 was conducted using OpenAlex, complemented by targeted manual searches. From an initial corpus of over 8700 papers on 3D heritage reconstruction, only 13 directly addressed generative AI-driven reconstruction processes. The analysis highlights a significant gap between the rapid technological development of AI-based tools and their cautious, often problematic, adoption in virtual reconstruction practices. Results reveal recurring issues related to terminological ambiguity, opacity of reconstruction processes, evaluation metrics focused on visual plausibility rather than scientific transparency and the risk of interpretative bias. The paper argues that current AI-driven approaches tend to privilege speed and aesthetic outcomes over heuristic, source-based reconstruction workflows. Finally, future research directions are discussed, emphasizing the potential role of AI as an evaluative and analytical support tool rather than a fully autonomous reconstruction agent, in alignment with established charters and principles of virtual archaeology. Full article

Heritage management has traditionally been shaped by what Laurajane Smith termed the “authorized heritage discourse,” wherein a narrow group of professionals determines values and meanings on behalf of broader communities. This article argues that a more inclusive, socially responsible model of heritage management is both possible and necessary. Drawing on three convergent intellectual traditions—heritage interpretation as originally formulated by Freeman Tilden, eco-museums and the new museology born from the Santiago de Chile Round Table of 1972, and the human-rights-based framework for cultural heritage enshrined in the Council of Europe’s Faro Convention of 2005—the article proposes “heritage literacy” as a conceptual synthesis which can bridge these streams. Heritage literacy denotes a form of socially responsible heritage management that empowers citizens to understand the processes through which heritage is constructed, to participate actively in its interpretation, and to direct their own development through it. The article demonstrates that heritage literacy operates simultaneously as knowledge/wisdom management and as a democratic practice, arguing that it should be recognized as an essential dimension of (cultural/heritage-related) human rights. By tracing the theoretical genealogy of each contributing tradition and synthesizing them into a unified framework, this article offers both a conceptual contribution to heritage studies and a practical orientation for heritage professionals and policymakers seeking to move beyond top–down models of heritage governance. Full article

Wikidata provides extensive coverage of tourism-related Points of Interest (POIs), yet its heterogeneous type system and uneven metadata limit its direct use in smart tourism applications. This paper presents an end-to-end pipeline that transforms Wikidata POIs into a compact and interpretable tourism-oriented representation supporting multi-category assignments. We collect POIs from six countries—Greece, Italy, Spain, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark—and construct a dataset that integrates core identifiers with textual descriptions, type information, heritage indicators, geographic coordinates, and Wikipedia sitelinks. We introduce an eight-category tourism taxonomy capturing key themes, including cultural venues, archaeological and historic sites, monuments, fortifications, religious sites, protected areas, natural features, and coastal or water locations. As a reproducible baseline, category likelihoods are estimated using sentence embeddings and similarity to category anchor descriptions, producing a probability vector for each POI. Building on this baseline, we propose a fuzzy inference layer that integrates embedding-based probabilities with structured Wikidata signals to generate interpretable membership degrees across categories and enable principled multi-category classification. This fusion is particularly valuable for smart tourism applications, as it supports robust faceted exploration and personalized recommendations (e.g., “historic + coastal”), while providing evidence-based explanations that enhance user trust and facilitate curator oversight when POI metadata is sparse or ambiguous. The resulting pipeline produces ranked POI catalogs by country and category, country-level tourism profiles, and diagnostic views for examining uncertain cases. The approach is fully reproducible and readily adaptable to other geographic regions or domain taxonomies. Full article

Multimodal artificial intelligence-generated content (AIGC) is reshaping museum digital exhibitions through dynamic content generation, contextual storytelling, and interactive feedback. Despite its growing adoption, the impact of AIGC’s experiential attributes on visitors’ digital exhibition experience intention remains underexplored. Drawing on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this study develops an integrative framework incorporating AIGC technology acceptance, perceived immersion, content creativity, interaction quality, cognitive evaluations, and affective responses. Data were collected from 481 visitors with prior digital exhibition experience and analyzed using PLS-SEM. The results indicate that AIGC technology acceptance significantly influences perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and digital exhibition experience intention; interaction quality enhances usability and exerts a direct effect on intention; and immersion and content creativity primarily shape intention through perceived enjoyment while also exhibiting direct effects. These findings extend TAM to multimodal AIGC-enabled museum contexts and provide empirical evidence to guide the design of culturally meaningful, interactive, and engaging digital exhibition experiences. Full article

Although generative artificial intelligence (AI) has increasingly been used to create destination marketing images, tourists’ responses to such images remain unclear. Prior research has often attributed negative reactions to the visual characteristics of AI-generated images. However, limited attention has been paid to how tourists interpret these images within broader cultural contexts. Drawing on authenticity theory and cultural learning theory, this research examines the effect of image type (AI vs. human) on tourists’ perceived authenticity and visit intention, as well as the moderating roles of cultural learning cues in this process. Using three experiments, the results show that AI-generated images reduce perceived authenticity and visit intention compared with images taken by humans. Notably, while salient cultural learning cues enhance tourists’ perceived authenticity and visit intentions, different types of cues produce distinct outcomes: commodified cultural cues mitigate tourists’ negative responses to AI-generated images, whereas heritage cultural cues amplify authenticity concerns. These findings provide strategic insights for destination marketers on how to deploy AI-generated images effectively in tourism destination marketing. Full article

UNESCO promotes multi-stakeholder collaborative planning in World Cultural Heritage management. However, while previous studies on heritage interpretation have identified differences in stakeholder values, they have rarely shown how such differences can be translated into decision-relevant evidence to support collaborative interpretation. Using the Longmen Grottoes, a World Cultural Heritage site in China, as a case study, this study aims to transform stakeholders’ perceptions of value into evidence for collaborative interpretation within the context of World Cultural Heritage management. This study uses a mixed-methods design, integrating semi-structured interviews, questionnaire surveys, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) analysis, and semantic analysis of official policy discourse. This study compares the value perception of experts, the religious group, residents, tourism operators, and visitors, as well as the value priorities of experts and non-experts, and examines the alignment of these values with official management discourses. The findings indicate that divergences among stakeholder groups in value priorities and the official discourse system are structured primarily around expert-driven priorities, while the discourse of the religious group and the secular public are not fully reflected. This study integrates bottom-up stakeholder data with top-down policy discourse, demonstrating how value differences can be transformed into structured evidence to inform collaborative interpretation. These findings provide empirical support for management strategies in World Cultural Heritage. Full article