Search Results (19)

Industrial heritage sites hold significant historical and architectural value and their attractive urban locations make them frequent targets for adaptive reuse. Yet decades of industrial activity have left hazardous residues embedded in building fabric, posing risks to public health. Current conservation practice rarely incorporates systematic identification and mapping of such contamination, creating a critical gap that can undermine both safety and the authenticity and integrity of historical material layers. This article proposes an interdisciplinary methodological framework for identifying, analysing, and managing contamination in post-industrial heritage. The model extends the Conservation Management Plan (CMP) by integrating chemical and toxicological analyses, GIS-based diagnostics, and ontological data modelling (CIDOC CRM). It supports value-based decision-making by enabling the safe recognition and preservation of historical layers that may contain toxic residues. The framework is being tested at the former Gdańsk Shipyard through integrated historical research, conservation surveys, and laboratory analyses to assess its applicability and scalability. The proposed approach is intended as a transferable tool for managing polluted heritage environments, aligned with SDGs 11 and 12. 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

This paper presents an innovative concept for the adaptive transformation of decommissioned coal mine shafts into advanced reduced-gravity research facilities, addressing both post-mining land management and continuous advancements in microgravity research. The proposed solution leverages existing underground infrastructure to create an exceptionally long drop tower, approximately 900 m, surpassing the operational capabilities of all current global facilities. The facility employs electromagnetic propulsion and braking systems compatible with maglev technology, enabling extended microgravity durations and the precise simulation of multiple planetary gravity environments. Comprehensive numerical simulations, taking into account realistic mining shaft geometries, aerodynamic resistance, and mechanical vibration isolation, demonstrate that the system achieves free-fall periods of at least 10 s, which will be longer in the case of a capsule drop for research in reduced-gravity conditions (controlled deceleration of the capsule during the drop). The six-point suspension system effectively isolates experimental payloads from vibrations generated during descent. Beyond technological innovation, the facility exemplifies multidimensional sustainability by integrating scientific advancement with regional economic revitalization, employment generation for mining communities, industrial heritage preservation, and alignment with European Green Deal objectives. This globally unique research center would provide unprecedented opportunities for materials science, space biology, and industrial experimentation, while demonstrating innovative repurposing of post-mining assets. Full article

The construction of post-industrial landscapes is increasingly regarded as an important pathway for promoting urban sustainability. However, limited attention has been given to the interconnections between post-industrial landscapes and local villagers in rural contexts. From the perspective of environmental justice, the ecological and cultural-tourism goals of post-industrial landscapes may be mismatched with villagers’ place-based needs. This study examines a typical rural post-industrial waterfront area in China to analyze villagers’ environmental justice. Representative project photographs were collected, and villagers’ perceptions were obtained through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, yielding 98 valid responses (95% response rate). Quantitative measurements of landscape characteristics were combined with pairwise preference evaluations, and the analysis applied the framework of recognition, participatory, and distributive justice. A discrete choice model (DCM) and spatial analysis were then employed to explore the relationships. Quantitative analysis showed that natural vegetation, plazas, industrial heritage, and pedestrian paths had negative effects on villagers’ recognition (β = −0.36 to −0.18), whereas hardscape had a strong positive effect (β = 0.94). Moreover, spatial analysis indicated localized patterns of environmental injustice, highlighting uneven distribution of landscape benefits across the site. Semi-structured interviews revealed villagers’ priorities across landscape design, amenities, local livelihoods, and project implementation, highlighting the importance of safer, more functional, and well-managed spaces. Collectively, these findings underscore the importance of inclusive planning and design strategies that integrate ecological, cultural, and recreational considerations, thereby supporting the sustainable renewal of rural post-industrial waterfronts. Full article

Post-occupancy evaluation is a critical mechanism for ensuring the sustained success and continuous improvement of industrial heritage revitalization initiatives. The quality of the visitor experience plays a key role in determining a project’s long-term vitality. This study focuses on assessing user satisfaction with a revitalized industrial heritage site by employing web crawling and data mining techniques to systematically collect and analyze user-generated reviews from major online platforms. Using the 1933 Old Millfun in Shanghai, China, as an example, this research identifies six core evaluation dimensions derived from extensive user commentary: project accessibility, cultural legibility, aesthetic distinctiveness, commercial appeal, facility completeness, and sense of security. These dimensions are integrated into a comprehensive analytical framework, with the Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation (FCE) method applied to quantitatively assess the site’s performance across each category. By combining qualitative sentiment data with quantitative evaluation techniques, the data-driven presentation provides nuanced insights into the evolving user experience. The research results contribute to the development of a replicable and scalable paradigm for measuring user experience in industrial heritage revitalization and highlights the potential of digital platforms as valuable tools for heritage site management and continuous optimization. Full article

Culture-led urban regeneration represents a potent strategy for revitalizing post-industrial cities but necessitates navigating complex property rights fragmentation and competing stakeholder interests. This research interrogates how different institutional arrangements mediate this process, balancing economic development with cultural preservation and social sustainability. Through a comparative case study of two seminal projects in Xi’an, China—the Yisu Opera Society and the Old Food Market—this paper examines the divergent outcomes of two property rights reconfiguration strategies: land assembly and rights subdivision. Findings reveal a fundamental trade-off: while the land assembly model facilitates efficient, large-scale redevelopment and economic revitalization, it often precipitates gentrification and the erosion of socio-cultural fabric. Conversely, the rights subdivision approach, though incurring higher ongoing transaction costs, fosters more equitable and embedded regeneration by preserving community networks and authentic character. Grounded in Property Rights and Transaction Cost theories, this study con-structs an analytical framework to evaluate how governance structures, stakeholder dynamics, and contextual factors shape project outcomes. The research concludes that there is no universal solution; the optimal pathway depends on the specific heritage context and social embeddedness of a site. It contributes to urban scholarship by highlighting the critical role of flexible, hybrid governance models in managing urban complexity and offers practical policy insights for designing regeneration frameworks that can more equitably distribute the benefits of urban development. Full article

Industrial heritage tourism has been subject to increasing visitor interest, making Europe’s old factories, mines, and steelworks into attractive tourist installations. However, these facilities, like all other market players, impact the environment, and, therefore, their management should take into account achieving sustainable development goals. The purpose of this article is to identify key sustainability measures taken by public industrial heritage tourism facilities in Europe to protect the environment. This article discusses the results of a survey of administrators of public industrial heritage facilities in Europe. This research was carried out using the Computer Assisted Web Interview technique, sending a research questionnaire to facilities associated with the European Route of Industrial Heritage. The results indicate that these entities are taking numerous measures to implement environmental sustainability patterns, particularly in the areas of waste segregation, pollution and waste generation reduction, and low energy consumption in equipment purchases. Unfortunately, the survey shows that many of the stated actions are not being implemented, as only one in four managers has implemented a formal program related to the implementation of at least some sustainability principles or training conducted in this regard. Managers of industrial heritage sites also advocate for increased national and international cooperation between sites. The author also draws attention to the need to acquire green technologies and communicate the effects of these activities to stakeholders. Full article

Contemporary post-industrial urban areas face opposing transformation trends: on one hand, abandonment or underutilization, and its replacement by new constructions and uses, on the other hand, the revaluation of the historical fabric and the implementation of initiatives to rehabilitate this legacy as industrial heritage. This study aimed to understand the factors that influence trends, and simulate land-use scenarios. A methodology based on three phases is proposed: digitization, exploratory spatial data analysis and simulation. Using the former textile district of Bellavista in Tomé (Chile), this study created and used historical land-use maps from 1970, 1992 and 2019. Meanwhile the main change observed from 1970 to 1992 was a 59.4% reduction in Historical Informal Open Spaces. The major change from 1992 to 2019 was the Historical Informal Open Space loss trend continuing; 65% of the land dedicated to this use changed to new usages. Consequently, the influence of two morphological factors and three urban management instruments on land-use changes between 1992 and 2019 was studied. The projection to 2030 showed a continued trend of expansion of new housing uses over historic urban green spaces and industrial areas on the waterfront, although restrained by the preservation of the central areas of historic housing and the textile factory. Full article

The allure of urban green spaces has captured the attention of researchers, especially in regions abundant in botanical wonders worldwide. Surprisingly, the case of Morocco, a country with a strong botanical tradition, has received little attention from researchers. Here, we explore the unique case of the emblematic “Majorelle Garden” in Marrakech, southern Morocco, through the reviews of its many visitors posted on the TripAdvisor platform. This article looks at the question “to what extent can a garden—such as the Majorelle—be a major attraction in a cultural tourist destination?”. Methodologically, we adopted a quantitative approach, examining visitors’ sentiments using the VADER tool from 2006 to 2023, and classifying them into three categories: negative, neutral, and positive. Furthermore, by utilizing LDA (latent dirichlet allocation), we uncover key topics running through visitors’ experiences. Our findings show that positive sentiments prevail, given the culturo-historical and symbolic quality of the garden as a crucible and vector of creativity, with the emergence of sub-corpuses that highlight certain divergences and convergences around the “Majorelle” case. This insight supports sustainability efforts by empowering the managers of the garden studied and industry professionals to develop and implement relevant strategies for managing and marketing the garden tourism attraction experience. In addition, this case study shows how a private urban garden reveals its key role in preserving cultural and botanical heritage, essential for future generations. It shows the garden’s positive impact on sustainable tourism through its ability to attract cultural visitors who appreciate and respect the local environment. Full article

This study addresses significant concerns highlighted by the European Parliament regarding the decline of the Italian tomato processing industry, which possess a threat to Italy’s culinary heritage and global market position. This research offers a solution that leverages blockchain technology to enhance transparency, traceability and operational efficiency within the tomato supply chain. By integrating Solidity, Remix IDE, MetaMask wallet and Sepolia Testnet, our proposed model establishes a robust blockchain-based smart-contract system. This system actively engages cultivators, wholesalers, retailers and end-users facilitating seamless real-time updates across the entire supply chain. Implementing this model in key tomato-producing regions such as Apulia, utilizing platforms like Mainnet or Hyperledger Fabric, aims to stabilize the industry. Furthermore, this study promotes automating smart contracts, integrating IoT devices and developing decentralized applications (DApps). This strategy ensures transparency for end-users, enhances organic food availability and mitigates contamination risks. This study also recommends government involvement to upgrade transportation and storage facilities, aiming to reduce post-harvest losses. This research establishes the groundwork for the sustainable management of the Italian tomato processing industry. Full article

Post-industrial neighborhoods are valued for their historical and cultural significance but often contend with challenges such as physical deterioration, social instability, and cultural decay, which diminish residents’ satisfaction. Leveraging urban renewal as a catalyst, it is essential to boost residents’ satisfaction by enhancing the environmental quality of these areas. This study, drawing on data from Shenyang, China, utilizes the combined strengths of gradient boosting decision trees (GBDTs) and asymmetric impact-performance analysis (AIPA) to systematically identify and prioritize the built-environment attributes that significantly enhance residents’ satisfaction. Our analysis identifies twelve key attributes, strategically prioritized based on their asymmetric impacts on satisfaction and current performance levels. Heritage maintenance, property management, activities, and heritage publicity are marked as requiring immediate improvement, with heritage maintenance identified as the most urgent. Other attributes are categorized based on their potential to enhance satisfaction or their lack of immediate improvement needs, enabling targeted and effective urban revitalization strategies. This research equips urban planners and policymakers with critical insights, supporting informed decisions that markedly improve the quality of life in these distinctive urban settings. Full article

Industrial heritage parks, an effective form of urban brownfield reuse, effectively mitigate pollution, improve the human living environment, and achieve sustainable development; industrial heritage parks, which add blue and green space to a city, also play an important role in presenting urban history and culture, promoting regional economic growth, and achieving human well-being. Exploring the user behavior use of industrial heritage parks and conducting post-occupancy evaluation of projects based on subjective human perceptions from the users’ perspective can contribute to improve the sustainable management, maintenance, and design of projects in the future. However, previous studies on post-occupancy evaluation have not been sufficiently studied for urban industrial heritage parks. This study takes Beijing Shougang Park, a representative industrial heritage park in China, as the research object, and distributes and collects nearly 150 questionnaires about user behavior and four significant evaluation items after the preliminary field research, analyzes the importance and satisfaction evaluation of the park design elements (place characteristics, natural environment characteristics, usability characteristics, and management characteristics), and uses a frequency analysis, an IPA analysis, an independent t-test, an analysis of variance, and a multiple regression analysis, and other methods are used, to quantitatively analyze the content of the questionnaire. The results of the study include the following: (1) The park is mainly used by people in their twenties to thirties and forties, and the usage rate of the sports plaza, which is the main facility, is the highest, while the usage rate of the renovation facility, the machine room, is the lowest. (2) While Shougang Park users were more satisfied with the natural environment features, Shougang Park users were found to be relatively less satisfied with the place and usability features. (3) The natural environment characteristics of Shougang Park had a positive effect on both overall satisfaction and recommendation intention. Finally, based on the questions and suggestions from users, a park renewal optimization strategy is proposed, hoping to provide suggestions for the renovation and design of similar industrial heritage parks in Chinese cities. Full article

This exploratory study investigates the challenges for the heritage tourism industries in the UAE by focusing on the strategies and policies adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to identify the business strategies, analyze the contextual challenges for service providers, and explore how providers managed these challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. A multi-case study approach is adopted with 12 renowned and leading heritage tourism providers (CEOc, managers, and relationship managers) Additionally, four tourism academics interviewed through qualitative semi-structured interviews. The data were obtained during the post-COVID-19 economic recovery period from January 2022 to November 2022. The protocols of the Delphi technique and the Template Analysis (TA) approach were combined to develop richer insights. Initially, the challenges discovered were thematically categorized under two levels, which were (i) Inconsistencies for Heritage Tourism and (ii) Appreciation for Heritage Tourism. As a result, subsequently, four multi-tiered themes (macro, meso, and micro level) emerged as a response to the current challenges: (i) Repackaging heritage tourism, (ii) Long-term safety measures for tourists, (iii) Organizational adaptation and innovation, and (iv) Creative recommendations. The novelty of this study is inherent in its contextualization of an under-explored area, concurrent analysis of a dynamic and lucrative sector, and methodological advancement through the embellishment of techniques. Based on the findings of this research, a contextualized framework is proposed that complements tourism theory and delivers credible implications for researchers, government planners, and tourism providers. Full article

Industrial heritage is one of the most neglected types of cultural heritage and urban landscape, often being vulnerable to rather than blessed by urban (re)development. China is confronting an unprecedentedly intensive challenge of preserving industrial heritage, as the country has rapidly shifted towards post-industrialization only several years after being recognized as the “world’s factory” in the 21st century. However, none of the existing literature has systematically investigated the typology and preservation of China’s post-1949 industrial heritage. This research selects Shanghai—the largest metropolis and a prime industrial hub in China— for the case study, and examines 83 accredited modern industrial heritage sites in the city through typological analysis, descriptive statistical analysis, and GIS spatial analysis. Two principal findings are identified. First, there is a diverse range of the post-1949 industrial heritage in China, by industries, time, and spatial forms. Particularly the industrial block—where industrial development is intermingled with the surrounding urban fabric—is the dominant spatial type. Second, the preservation and regeneration of China’s post-1949 industrial heritage in the suburbs are substantially more complex and more threatened than those in the inner city. This study concludes by providing implications for enhanced management and investigation of China’s post-1949 industrial heritage preservation and regeneration. Full article

The article presents selected post-industrial heritage sites in Poland and the USA. Comparative studies conducted by the authors concern economic, financial and socio-cultural aspects. The research methods used include a diagnostic survey and analysis of financial documents of selected post-industrial facilities in Poland and the USA. The authors carried out financial analyses of the functioning of selected post-industrial cultural heritage facilities. The aims of the diagnostic survey were to examine public opinion regarding the financing of post-industrial facilities and the interest of young people in post-industrial monuments. Furthermore, the researchers aimed to identify potential customers and determine the most effective methods of promoting post-industrial cultural objects and post-industrial tourism. These research results can be used by authorities managing post-industrial cultural monuments as a guideline for designing marketing activities and segmenting the market for post-industrial tourism services. This will allow marketing information to reach defined target groups more effectively. Surveys showed that respondents from both countries agreed about the need to protect post-industrial heritage. Significant differences in opinions concerned interest in post-industrial tourist offerings. In Poland, 88% of respondents believed that post-industrial facilities can arouse the interest of tourists, whereas only 28% of respondents believed so in the USA. This article considers the development of post-industrial tourism and the revitalization of post-industrial facilities from the new perspective of potential users. Full article