RuralCommons

Heritage values represent to a large extent a common good, contributing to societal identity and well-being; landscape is considered to be the result of a long standing interaction between humanity and the biophysical system. Today's changing society is immersed in transitions towards forms of governance dominated by actor-networks and social media. In this context, heritage values represent a resource, to be shared rather than to be conserved by regulating ownership. The project aims for a paradigmatic change in heritage-led rural regeneration, based on new rural commons. An empowered civil society, including public and private engagement, is a fundamental boundary condition for such a new approach of cultural heritage management in rural environments. The main focus is therefore to maximize the intrinsic economic, cultural and societal value of cultural heritage and to develop new models of rural regeneration through knowledge exchange and mutual learning. The project outcomes will help reduce the fragmentation of domains in heritage initiatives and management of rural areas, which are often trans-disciplinary, cross-geographical and cross-cultural disparities; it will also propose integrative practices and methods that can be tested and replicated in rural, often disadvantaged, regions. Network: The network formed in this project builds forth on the community of practice which was originally formed in the CHeriScape project.