Digital Practices for the Study of Urban Heritage

The UDigiSH Working Group focuses on the study of Digital Methods and Good Practices of heritage and urban change, impact of urban development on cultural heritage, the identity of the city and the role of civil society.

Unlisted historic buildings and heritage are under threat in European cities, with direct impact to the cohesion of their communities and everyday lives of citizens. Challenged by urbanization, economic difficulties, gentrification and migration the experience of historic spaces and buildings is fragmented thus mirroring the disconnected perception of urban societies. The Digital practices for the Study of urban Heritage Working Group acknowledges both the urgency and the complexity of these challenges proposing a holistic and inclusive approach that can be applied to identify and tackle these socioeconomic and cultural issues.

The Working Group discusses the attribution of cultural values to built heritage, towards inclusive, innovative and reflective societies – for example, in conflict spaces the common past and heritage can be established as a bridge for peace. Responding to contemporary pressing challenges of urban environments can only be achieved through the transnational collaboration as the challenges are complex and ill-defined and thus cannot be dealt with at a local scale.

Topics:

• Digital Humanities for the Study of Historic Cities

• A Cloud for the Preservation of Cultural Rights

• Promotion of Cultural Dialogue

• GeoVisualisation of Urban Histories

• Participatory Digital Narratives and Citizen Science in Cultural Heritage: co-creation and co-management of informal stories and memories

Perspectives:

• Cultural Heritage institutions

• Scholars and researchers in Digital Humanities

• City stakeholders and professional associations

• Urban communities and citizen groups