Search Results (5)

Rural depopulation and the abandonment of historic settlements are pressing challenges for contemporary spatial planning, particularly in regions with a rich architectural and cultural heritage. This article examines the ruins of Moya, in Cuenca (Spain), as a case study to develop an integrated rural revitalisation strategy. The research combines historical building analysis, assessment of structural deterioration, and planning for economic reactivation to create a comprehensive framework for transforming abandoned sites into a viable cultural resource. The proposed model favours temporary and flexible occupation over permanent repopulation, promoting forms of use that respect and preserve the site’s historical identity. The approach builds on principles of activating monumental heritage, integrating the vernacular fabric, and organising the site into distinct functional areas. Moya is thus presented not only as an example of abandonment, but also as a replicable prototype for intervention in other declining rural environments, where heritage can serve as a strategic resource for sustainable development and territorial cohesion. The main objectives are to develop and test an integrated strategy for rural regeneration that goes beyond physical restoration, combining adaptive reuse, heritage conservation, and educational and cultural programmes to stimulate the local economy and reinforce territorial identity. The approach is evaluated through the case of Moya and contrasted with other national and international experiences to assess its replicability. Full article

The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is an area where human disturbance has been strictly restrained for about seven decades since 1953. As a result, compared with rural and urban areas in Korea with similar ecological conditions, the landscape structure of the Korean DMZ today shows a big difference in that it has a riparian forest and lacks any of the artificial landscape elements, such as agricultural and residential areas. The vegetation maps made in the 1950s and those made in recent years of a model site that extends throughout the DMZ, the Civilian Control Zone (CCZ), and adjacent rural areas show that successional changes in the DMZ and CCZ areas are remarkable, while changes in the rural areas are not clear. Rice fields have been replaced by riparian forests, whereas young forests in areas previously subjected to excessive use and pine forests have been replaced by broad-leaved forests. Among the three landscape elements that changed, it was found that riparian zones, where natural disturbance is usually frequent, could mitigate the impacts of human disturbance and restore the original features of nature sooner than any other elements. The results of analyses on landscape change that focused on rice fields before the Korean War also showed similar results: most of these fields had turned into riparian vegetation. Stand ordination of riparian vegetation investigated in the CCZ, rural areas, and urban areas showed clear differences in species composition and diversity among regions. In this study, we confirmed the passive restoration of the Korean DMZ and CCZ through natural regeneration processes as a result of restricted human disturbance over a period of about seven decades. Full article

This paper aims to investigate potential strategies to reduce energy consumption and environmental impacts of a recently converted rural complex into an agri-spa in a high environmental value area within the province of Viterbo (Italy). Actual operational data on appliances, climate, and energy consumption are employed for the energy audit. While this analysis generally provides energy-saving solutions, such options are not examined for their life cycle environmental impacts. The current article is based on the experimentation of a consolidated methodological approach in the scientific literature, integrating the energy audit, life cycle assessment (LCA), and economic analysis (Life Cycle Cost) to assess a series of energy-efficiency measures designed for the new wellness centre function. The combined use of these well-established procedures provides a comprehensive assessment of intervention scenarios for a particularly energy-intensive type of case study, not yet widely documented in the literature. The results reveal that energy consumption related to heating/cooling is marginal compared to the actual electrical consumption in the specific case study. Therefore, the most efficient scenarios involve installing photovoltaic systems and replacing gas boilers with high-efficiency heat pumps, especially with economically advantageous insulation. This leads to a 51% reduction in energy consumption and an 81% decrease in heating, DHW, and electricity costs. Full article

In the course of China’s rapid urbanization, rural places are brought into urban areas, forming semi-urbanization. These semi-urbanized sites suggest a dual urban–rural structure in their form and management. With the slowing down of urbanization, the Chinese government adopted heritage tourism to boost the local economy. Local historic buildings and cultural resources were regenerated and restored in this process. This paper aims at examining the role of heritage tourism in blurring the boundary of rurality and urbanity, boosting local economy, and revitalizing the areas with cultural-led development. In this paper, we analyzed the Huangpu Ancient Village’s regeneration process. We argue that the Huangpu Ancient Village integrates local historical and cultural resources to boost the local economy, simultaneously adopting urban renewal and rural revival strategies. This paper contributes to the body of literature addressing villages in urban areas, breaking the duality of urbanity and rurality. Full article

Architectural quality and preservation of rural characteristics is a goal of building design for sustainable environments. The environment has a different function for different societies, creating a large variety of meanings. In the Zeta region of Montenegro, the negative transformation of the rural environment is happening more rapidly than the recording of its traditional built assets. Protection and conservation of traditional rural architecture in this rural region of south-eastern Europe are important to both mitigation of the consequences of unsustainable rural shifts and the preservation of cultural heritage. This research focuses on the meaning of the different dwelling and residential environment features for the residents of the traditional houses of the rural areas of the Zeta region, Montenegro. The aim of the research was to obtain more insight and information on the meaning of architectural and rural design features by exploring the sustainability-related characteristics of traditional rural houses in the so-far insufficiently studied micro-region of the western Balkans to reveal their value and to initiate discussion of the role of heritage regeneration in sustainable rural development. Fifty (50) traditional houses of agrarian and rural areas of the Zeta region of Montenegro were observed and analysed in terms of the building site, space planning of the interior space, and building materials used. The analysis has revealed that many ecological aspects were taken into consideration and different methods were implemented during the construction of the traditional houses of the Zeta region. Taking into consideration the age of those structures, the constructors did not have an in-depth awareness of sustainability theories, and they were acting based on their personal practices and specific environmental requirements. This study’s results can help update a database of sustainability for the traditional architectural heritage of Montenegro, which will enhance the process of creating sustainable buildings without losing the place identity and staying in the same cultural context. Restoration of the traditional houses of the Zeta region of Montenegro, but also of the other rural areas of Montenegro, must in future be defined in a way that enables the preservation of recognized general values and further improvement of environmental quality and climate resilience. Simultaneously, functional reactivation of traditional houses should be understood as a contribution to the sustainable development of the studied region of Montenegro. Full article