Heritage-led urban regeneration and civic wealth creation in UNESCO sites in small towns

The concept of urban regeneration can be applied to the revitalisation and social upgrading of historical city centres that are usually rich in cultural heritage (CH) but lack social and economic opportunities for citizens, thus, they risk the desertification of their centres. Since CH is an important catalyst for growth, employment, and social cohesion, this study aims to investigate how local administrations can “activate” CH to create tangible and intangibles assets that benefit local communities and make them growth. This topic is investigated using the conceptual framework of civic wealth creation applied to the case of a Unesco world heritage site located in Italy. Results show that the local administration plays a key role as facilitator/orchestrator in reconciling issues of heritage preservation with actions that favor socialization among the different local stakeholders and they show that stakeholders engagement and collaboration are fundamental to bring civic wealth creation.