Participation and Spatial Analysis to make Cities Resilient to Climate Change. The Historic Center of Genoa
Published 2026-01-29
Keywords
- urban resilience,
- spatial analysis,
- climate change,
- historic centers,
- participation
How to Cite
Copyright (c) 2026 Fabrizio Bruno, Ilenia Spadaro, Federica Paoli, Barbara Poggio, Francesca Pirlone

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Climate change represents one of the most urgent challenges of the 21st century; Historic Centers are highly vulnerable to its effects, and, in a scenario of worsening climate regimes, it is crucial to explore innovative methods and tools to promote adaptation to climate change specific to these multi-risk contexts. However, research in this field is still underdeveloped, especially when it comes to the active involvement of territorial stakeholders in identifying and managing multiple climate-related risks-prone areas. This paper proposes a participatory methodology developed within the EU-funded HERIT ADAPT project aims at analyzing the criticalities affecting Historic Centers and co-designing interventions for the multi-risk adaptation of them to climate change. The application of the methodology to the case study of the Historic Centre of Genoa is presented and first results are reported. The goal is to test and generalize the approach to make it as objective and replicable as possible, by identifying processes and technological tools, as well as categories of data that can be easily found in official databases related to historical urban contexts.
Downloads
References
- Atktür G. et al. 2024, Integrated understanding of climate change and disaster risk for building resilience of cultural heritage sites, «Natural Hazards», vol. 121, pp. 4309-4334
- Balbi V. et al. 2020, Co-Designing the Accessibility: from Participatory Mapping to New Inclusive Itineraries Through the Cultural Heritage of Bologna, «European Journal of Creative Practices in Cities and Landscapes», vol. 3, n. 2, pp. 121-140
- Blavier C.L.S. et al. 2023, Adaptive measures for preserving heritage buildings in the face of climate change: A review, «Building and Environment», vol. 245, 110832
- Cai Y. et al. 2021, Triple Helix or Quadruple Helix: Which Model of Innovation to Choose for Empirical Studies?, «Minerva», vol. 60, pp. 257-280
- ClimateADAPT, Urban Adaptation Support Tool, in ClimateADAPT <https://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/en/knowledge/tools/urban-ast/step-0-0> (19/05)
- Cornish F. et al. 2023, Participatory action research, «Nature Reviews Methods Primers», vol. 3, 34
- Esquinoza A. et al. 2023, Paving the Way for Climate Neutral and Resilient Historic Districts, «Open Research Europe», vol. 3, n. 42
- Evans J. et al. 2011, The walking interview: Methodology, mobility and place, «Applied Geography», vol. 31, n. 2, pp. 849-858
- EU, Strengthening cultural heritage resilience for climate change, in Publications Office of the European Union <https://op.europa.eu/en/home> (13/05)
- Fatorić S. et al. 2019, Knowledge co-production in climate adaptation planning of archaeological sites, «Journal of Coastal Conservation», vol. 23, pp. 689-698
- Feekery A. 2023, The 7 C’s framework for participatory action research: inducting novice participant-researchers, «Educational Action Research», vol. 32, n. 3, pp. 332-347
- Hanson-DeFusco J. 2023, What data counts in policymaking and programming evaluation, «Evaluation and Program Planning», vol. 97, 102238
- Holtorf C. 2018, Embracing change: how cultural resilience is increased through cultural heritage, «World Archeology», vol. 50, n. 4, pp. 639-650
- Hügal S. et al. 2020, Public participation, engagement, and climate change adaptation: A review of the research literature, «WIREs Climate Change», vol. 21, n. 4, e645
- Ialone C. et al. 2022, Participatory Governance of Culture and Cultural Heritage: Policy, Legal, Economic Insights From Italy, «Frontier in Sustainable Cities», vol. 4, 777708
- IPCC, AR6 Synthesis Report Climate Change 2023, in The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Reports <https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/> (13/05)
- ISPRA, Planning for adaptation to climate change, in act LIFE <https://base-adaptation.eu/sites/default/files/306-guidelinesversionefinale20.pdf> (26/05)
- ISTAT, Accesso ai dati, in ISTAT <https://www.istat.it/> (30/05)
- Kourtit K. et al. 2014, Planning for Urban Historical-Cultural Heritage: A Geo-imaging Multicriteria Approach, «Built Environment», vol. 40, n. 4, pp. 521-533
- Legambiente, Città Clima – Bilancio 2024, in Osservatorio Nazionale Città Clima Legambiente <https://www.legambiente.it/> (29/05)
- Li J. et al. 2020a, Community participation in cultural heritage management: A systematic literature review comparing Chinese and international practices, «Cities», vol. 96, 102476
- Mukim M. et al. Thriving: Making Cities Green, Resilient, and Inclusive in a Changing Climate, in World Bank Group <https://hdl.handle.net/10986/38295> (06/06)
- Natividade-Jesus E. et al. 2019, A Case Study Driven Integrated Methodology to Support Sustainable Urban Regeneration Planning and Management, «Sustainability», vol. 11, n. 15, 4129
- Nicolini E. 2024, Climate change adaptation and mitigation and historic centers preservation. Underway and repeatable technological design solutions, «Cities», vol. 152, 105174
- Nguyen K.N. et al. 2023, Climate Change and UNESCO World Heritage-Listed Cultural Properties: A Systematic Review, 2008–2021, «Heritage», vol. 6, n. 3, pp. 2394-2420
- Orr S.A. et al. 2021, Climate Change and Cultural Heritage: A Systematic Literature Review (2016–2020), «The Historic Environment: Policy & Practice», vol. 12, n. 3-4, pp. 434-477
- Pisa P.F. et al., Deliverable 7.3.7 Hazard-Risk-Resilience Nexus in a cultural heritage-centered and socio-economic context, in RETURN Foundation <https://www.fondazionereturn.it/> (26/05)
- PUC, Piano Urbanistico Comunale Vigente, in Comune di Genova <https://www2.comune.genova.it/servizi/puc> (29/05)
- Rosso F. et al. 2023, Mitigating Multi-risks in the Historical Built Environment: A Multi-strategy Adaptive Approach, «Sustainability in Energy and Buildings», vol. 336, pp. 197-207
- Sabbioni C. et al. (eds) 2010, The Atlas of Climate Change Impact on European Cultural Heritage, Anthem Press, Wimbledon
- Sadowski M.M. 2018, Urban Cultural Heritage: Managing and Preserving a Local Global Common in the Twenty-first Century, «Journal of Heritage Management», vol. 2, n. 2, pp. 125-151
- SECAP, Piano d’azione per l’energia sostenibile e il clima, in Comune di Genova <https://smart.comune.genova.it> (29/05)
- Sesana E. et al. 2018, Adapting Cultural Heritage to Climate Change Risks: Perspectives of Cultural Heritage Experts in Europe, «Geosciences», vol. 8, n. 8, 305
- Sesana E. et al. 2021, Climate change impacts on cultural heritage: A literature review, «WIREs Climate Change», vol. 12, n. 4, e710
- Stalhandske Z. et al. 2024, Global multi-hazard risk assessment in a changing climate, «Scientific Reports», vol. 14, 5874
- Tavares G.U. et al. 2021, Participatory Mapping and SWOT in the context of the Water-Food-Energy Nexus for attaining SDGs in Eastern Amazonia, «Proceedings of the ICA», vol. 4, 105
- Tzortzi J.N. et al. 2022, Re-starting from cultural heritage to design the resilience of historical urban centres, in A. Gospodini (ed.), Proceedings of the International Conference on Changing Cities V, UMLAB Press, Volos, pp. 741-751
- UNCED, United Nations Conference on Environmental & Development – Agenda21, in UNCED <https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/Agenda21.pdf> (15/05)
- UNDRR, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, in UNDRR < https://www.undrr.org> (16/05)
- UNHABITAT, Promoting Energy Efficiency in Buildings in East Africa – Urban Energy Technical Note, in UNHABITAT <https://unhabitat.org > (15/05)
- UNESCO, Managing Cultural World Heritage, in UNESCO <https://www.iccrom.org> (19/05)
- UNESCO, Decision 41 COM 7 State of Conservation of the Properties Inscribed on the World Heritage List, in UNESCO Resolutions <https://whc.unesco.org> (08/05)
- UNESCO, UNESCO Strategy for Action on Climate Change, in UNESCO <https://whc.unesco.org> (08/05)
- UNESCO, Updated Policy Document on Climate Action for World Heritage, in UNESCO <https://whc.unesco.org> (08/05)
- UNESCO, Policy Document on Climate Action for World Heritage, in UNESCO <https://whc.unesco.org> (19/05)
- Wilson H. (eds) 2019, The Future of Our Pasts, ICOMOS, Paris
