This insightful report delves into the crucial topic of sustainable cultural heritage valorisation in European cities, offering valuable recommendations to decision and policy makers. Funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, it emphasizes the significance of cultural heritage in generating cultural-historical values, economic impact, social cohesion, and environmental consciousness. The report highlights the challenges faced in this context, including governance, protection rules, capacities, side-effects, and fragmentation.
It presents eleven key recommendations for decision and policy makers. These include advocating for decentralisation to ensure multilevel governance platforms on the local level, generating a balance of regulations and flexibility, guaranteeing shared cultural heritage and fair use of public space, reconciling the needs of residents and visitors, supporting cooperation between cultural heritage and other sectors, ensuring appropriate impact assessments, and addressing the international/European dimension of cultural heritage valorisation. Furthermore, the report stresses the importance of addressing the systemic underfinancing of cultural heritage and applying new public procurement instruments.
Additionally, it underscores the need to understand the specific skills and qualifications required for cultural heritage valorisation, as well as the necessity of guaranteeing cultural and civic rights in regulations. It also encourages the engagement on the EU level for cultural heritage valorisation support. The findings are based on the results of the ROCK report D6.4, “Regulatory Framework, ROCK Procurement and Policy Recommendations,” and have been coordinated and co-authored by experts in the field. This comprehensive report is essential reading for professionals and enthusiasts involved in European heritage, providing valuable insights and actionable recommendations for sustainable cultural heritage valorisation in cities.
