CONSIDER aims to develop sustainable management models for industrial heritage sites for the benefits of the local communities as a resource for strengthening collective identities, improving the urban landscape, promoting ecofriendly solutions, and contributing to the urban economy and a sustainablefuture of the city. It will investigate sustainable management models for industrial heritage while exploring participatory governance models as a tool to better integrate industrial heritage sites with European society.
Deindustrialisation processes all around Europe give rise to social, economic and environmental problems that are resulting from structural change. Thus, there is an urgent need to find sustainable management models to overcome these challenges.
Research objectives:
- To expand on what is considered as industrial heritage, how to safeguard them
- To investigate the history of sites to identify the most influential factors used to maximise their benefit
- To explore inclusive governance and participatory models as a tool to better integrate industrial heritage with society.
The innovative side of this model is its inclusive approach to the problem (in terms of regions, sectors, taking into consideration gender aspects, and highlighting the exchange of knowledge, technology and labour). The circular knowledge exchange is based on systematic and triple-helix approach between academia (universities), policymakers (municipalities), and practitioners (SME/NGO) that will contribute both to identifying problems and developing guidelines for the improvement of the situation. This research brings novelty with respect to geographic regions that previously were not sufficiently investigated and inventoried, thus providing the basis for further comparative research undertakings and the sustainability of the project outcomes in creating new knowledge.