Integrating Intangible Cultural Heritage into Living Historic Cities: A Digital and Culture-Oriented Approach to Urban Development and Spatial Governance

I am an Architect, Doctor of Architecture, and Innovation Developer in Culture-Oriented Urban Planning. I am an Expert member of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) Sweden and the ICOMOS International Committee on Historic Cities, Towns and Villages (CIVVIH).

I have developed an interdisciplinary research and innovation framework at the intersection of architecture, urban planning, digital technologies, cultural heritage, and humanities-based research, entitled: “Integrating Intangible Cultural Heritage into Living Historic Cities: A Digital and Culture-Oriented Approach to Sustainable Urban Development, Spatial Governance and Resilience”.

In the context of contemporary globalization, climate change, conflicts, crises, and economic instability, the role of historic cities as carriers of both tangible and intangible cultural heritage is significantly increasing. These processes often undermine local and cultural identity, weaken social cohesion, and challenge the resilience of urban communities. Despite growing recognition of the importance of cultural heritage for sustainable development, cultural meanings, the spirit of place, and Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) remain insufficiently integrated into contemporary urban planning and governance systems.

Against this background, there is a growing need to rethink the urban environment as a space of cultural and symbolic meaning. Consistent with the principles of the Davos Baukultur Alliance, the framework promotes a holistic and culture-oriented approach to shaping places where people live, recognising cultural heritage and ICH as essential resources for place quality, social cohesion, resilience, and sustainable development.

The framework is centred on an innovative methodology for integrating Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) into digital urban planning systems and 2D/3D urban cadastres as a measurable and operational spatial layer through a scalable legal, methodological, and digital approach with strong potential for adaptation across European contexts. It contributes to a new paradigm of human-centred urbanism grounded in cultural identity, collective memory, and the cultural memory of place.

A central component of the framework is the development of the Mytho-Toponymic Reference Plan© — a pioneering digital and regulatory urban planning tool designed for pilot implementation and scaling across European cities. The methodology supports municipalities, planners, and urban stakeholders in integrating Intangible Cultural Heritage into urban policy, legislation, and planning practice through digital and spatial planning systems.

The framework represents an original authorial methodology, protected through seven registered copyright certificates, supported by more than 40 scientific publications, and reinforced by an international patent application filed under the PCT procedure. It has reached a level of maturity that enables pilot implementation and the co-development, testing, and validation of innovative digital and spatial planning instruments for integrating Intangible Cultural Heritage into urban planning and spatial governance.

By integrating cultural memory, living heritage, digital innovation, and spatial governance into a unified framework, the initiative contributes to the development of a new culture-oriented urban paradigm that supports sustainable, inclusive, and human-centred transformation of Living Historic Cities and urban communities.

The framework is strongly aligned with the principles and objectives of the New European Bauhaus, particularly regarding cultural identity, place-based development, citizen participation, social cohesion, and sustainable urban transformation. It is further aligned with major European and international frameworks, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UN-Habitat principles, the Culture Compass for Europe, the Urban Agenda for the EU, the Territorial Agenda 2030, and relevant UNESCO and ICOMOS heritage frameworks.

I am seeking collaboration with experienced European proposal coordinators, potential New European Bauhaus partners, and consortium members interested in jointly developing an innovative and impactful European proposal based on this mature interdisciplinary research and innovation framework.

I am also seeking potential consortium partners from academia, public authorities, cultural heritage institutions, research and innovation organisations, civil society, professional networks, and digital innovation ecosystems interested in cultural heritage, architecture, urban planning, spatial governance, citizen participation, digital technologies, and sustainable urban transformation.

The initiative welcomes interdisciplinary collaboration and expertise relevant to the development, pilot implementation, testing, validation, and scaling of the proposed framework across European cities and regions.