Spatial multiple criteria decision aiding approach to enhance cultural heritage in fragile vulnerable contexts

The introduction of the concept of sustainable development in the field of cultural heritage preservation has stressed the importance of a holistic approach. Achieving a balance among cultural significance retention and economic development is a challenging policy and design territorial issue, even more in fragile and vulnerable contexts with limited resources, low return expectations and a huge tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Given such a complexity, decisions require to be based on robust methodologies in order to address choices toward a balanced trade-off between conflictual goals. In this perspective, Spatial Multicriteria Decision Aiding methodologies can support decision makers along all the steps of the process, moving from intelligence to design and, finally, to choice phase. Within this approach, we have focused on the intelligence phase with the purpose of defining a multi- dimensional analytical framework aimed at mapping cultural heritage with a special attention to the territorial features. The proposed frame- work points out the challenge of structuring a decision problem related to cultural heritage widespread along slow mobility routes. The pi- lot case study is represented by an on-going cycle route that crosses Northern Italy transversely. The results obtained are value maps that provide recommendations for the definition of potential regeneration strategies to be transferred to similar territorial contexts.