The adaptive reuse of cultural heritage contributes to heritage conservation, leveraging on the heritage potential to enable sustainable development and enhance urban livability. Yet, it is seldom applied as intervention. This research furthers the knowledge on the challenges to the adaptive reuse of cultural heritage. Through the case study of Salerno (Italy) and a participatory methodology, this research organized a stakeholder engagement workshop, facilitating the interaction of stakeholders—representing the public, private, civic, and knowledge sectors, while using a theoretical framework based on the six steps of the UNESCO Historic Urban Landscape approach to adopt a multi-scale perspective. The content analysis of the data reveals 55 themes encompassing challenges and solutions. These themes are presented in a general overview, followed by an in-depth reporting of the five most discussed themes, i.e. knowledge production and management, participation, valorization, approaches, and cooperation. Besides the contribution to science, this research also offers an overview of challenges and possible solutions for prospective stakeholders in the adaptive reuse of cultural heritage, informing future decision- and policy-making activities towards greater sustainable development within the built environment.

The adaptive reuse of cultural heritage can contribute to sustainable development and circular economy, preventing waste production and resource depletion by extending the heritage lifespan. This reuse is limited by challenges mostly identified at the case study level. However, further theorising these challenges could enrich the related body of knowledge and contribute to their mitigation. By defining a theoretical framework, this research builds on the cross-sectional analysis of adaptive reuse undertaken in three European cities: Amsterdam, Rijeka, and Salerno. The challenges were identified by representatives of the public, private, knowledge, and non-profit sectors through stakeholder engagement workshops. Examples of challenges common to the three cities are shortcomings in existing approaches; lack of awareness and capacity; cultural heritage interpretation and management; data management; costs; conflicting interests; lack of knowledge; lack of participatory processes; and compliance with regulations and policies. Being identified in diverse European cities, these challenges can be representative within the European region. Arguably, some of these challenges also apply to other regions since they were reported in case studies from Asia, North America, and Oceania. Addressing these challenges could contribute to sustainable development by potentially contributing towards efforts to achieve ten of the Sustainable Development Goals, as some challenges align with some of these goals.

The conservation of cultural heritage through its adaptive reuse contributes to the transition towards circular cities enhancing urban liveability and tackles challenges such as resource scarcity (UN SDG target 11.4) and waste prevention (UN SDG target 12.5). By regenerating heritage resources and maintaining their values over time, adaptive reuse comes out as a circular practice that can boost wellbeing and create new values, e.g. spill over effects. Currently, the knowledge on challenges affecting cultural heritage adaptive reuse is limited in scope, geographical area, and stakeholders’ contribution. This study thus seeks to address such limitations by identifying what challenges cultural heritage adaptive reuse entails and how to overcome them. This identification uses the steps of the holistic and integrated approach set forward by the 2011 UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape. This study is based on a case study analysis entailing a workshop in the City of Amsterdam. A wide range of [46] stakeholders from the public, private, and civic sectors participated. The qualitative dataset was analysed through content analysis revealing that the identified challenges mainly concern the domains of knowledge, interest, and civic engagement. In sum, this study provides insights in cultural heritage adaptive reuse practices by enabling a better understanding of their challenges from multi-stakeholders’ perspectives. This research also raises awareness on challenges and sets out the basis for further developing solutions and tools to overcome them facilitating the transition from a reactive towards a proactive attitude in adaptive reuse practices.

Cultural heritage is recognized as a driver and enabler for sustainable development, and its role within the circular economy and circular cities is gaining attention. Its adaptive reuse plays a significant role in this while prolonging the heritage lifespan, preserving the values associated with heritage assets, and creating shared values. The adoption and implementation of the adaptive reuse of cultural heritage practices present challenges at multiple levels. This research aims to identify these challenges and propose solutions to overcome them, considering the post-industrial port city of Rijeka, Croatia, as a case study. The adaptive reuse of cultural heritage practices was assessed through a stakeholder engagement workshop performing a multi-scale analysis using the Historic Urban Landscape approach as an assessment framework. Forty-nine themes were identified by content analysis of the challenges and solutions identified by stakeholders involved in adaptive reuse practices and decision-making in the city. The five most mentioned themes refer to aspects relating to participation, capacity, regulatory systems, economics-finance, and knowledge. These findings provide evidence of challenges for policy-and decision-makers to be addressed in policy-making. Solutions are also suggested to facilitate the adaptive reuse of cultural heritage in the city of Rijeka and similar contexts, such as introducing policies to support participatory decision-making whose absence is a barrier.

This publication presents the Almere Heritage Cube: An Assessment framework for Participatory Heritage Valorisation in Almere. It reports a research project that has been conducted by researchers of Delft University of Technology and Eindhoven University of Technology in 2019-2020. Why Almere? What is an “Almere Heritage Cube”? Almere is representative of post-war heritage inclusive of experimental housing units and neighbourhoods representing the architectural and urban design trends of the post-war period. Although it is relatively young in age, and thus not well acknowledged by both academics and public, it possesses a significant characteristic. Based upon the observations and opinions of the residents, who know Almere best, the study explores what are the qualities of the living environments through innovative and participatory processes to preserve them for the future.

Cultural heritage drives and enables sustainable urban development. The adaptive reuse of cultural heritage creates values while prolonging the lifespan of heritage. Similarly, circular economy creates value while extending the useful life of materials and elements through their reuse. Existing studies on adaptive reuse challenges seldom focus on cultural heritage properties, and they are often identified through the engagement of a limited variety of stakeholders, as compared to the actors normally involved in adaptive reuse. Filling this gap, this paper provides a preliminary baseline of challenges faced by the city of Amsterdam from the perspective of various involved stakeholders, and suggests solutions to address them. The participants represented the public, private, knowledge, and third sectors. The methods used were the following: for data collection, a multidisciplinary workshop using the steps of the Historic Urban Landscape approach as an assessment framework applied to multiple scales on adaptive reuse, and for data analysis, manifest content analysis. The results expanded the range of challenges and solutions reported by previous literature on the adaptive reuse of cultural heritage in content and scale by identifying 61 themes—e.g., knowledge and civic engagement. Tools and stakeholders were also identified. These findings provide a reference for future practice, policymaking, and decision-making, facilitating the adaptive reuse of cultural heritage to capitalize on its potential for sustainable development and circular economy.

Adaptive reuse of historic buildings plays a significant role in the transition towards circular economy. The existing literature still regards heritage conservation, urban management, circular economy and sustainable development as different spheres of knowledge. The Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) provides a holistic approach to integrate these spheres, along with a supplementary toolkit. However, its implementation is still sporadic, not fully aligned with the circular economy framework, and unframed in the adaptive reuse and regeneration policies and practices at local level. The aim of this paper is thus to provide a framework to investigate how the HUL approach and tools are operationalised at building level, bridging the gap between international policy documents, global aspirations circular economy, and local practices of adaptive reuse. For this, the circular models of adaptive reuse in terms of governance and decision-making structures, and environmental strategies are identified through a case study analysis of best practice: the Pakhuis de Zwijger (PdZ) case in Amsterdam. Focus group meetings have been conducted with internal and external local stakeholders of PdZ to formulate their governance model, and four levels of sustainable governance actors are identified. Then, their decision-making process is mapped, and the newly adopted sustainability measures are analysed. These circular models and strategies at building level are then aligned with the broader HUL toolkit.In this context, this paper contributes to the operationalization of HUL tools at building level, supporting the strengthening of efforts for the protection of world’s cultural heritage (UN SDG 11.4) and reduction of waste generation through reuse (UN SDG 12.5)The identification and assessment of circular administrative and environmental models of adaptive reuse incorporates circular economy strategies and tools into the HUL framework.