AGREE emerges as an innovative and timely research project in response to conventionally linear solutions that have hindered integrated, context-specific and sustainable climate adaptation actions. It focuses on the systemic relationship between cultural heritage governance, climate adaptation, and community resilience, historically developed through responses to flooding in three urban contexts in the UK, Norway, and Italy.

AGREE will advance the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) concept as a foundation for transformative decision-making in the cultural heritage governmental sector for climate adaptation strategies.

The project addresses three spheres for transformative change:

• the institutional sphere by questioning the status quo of current policy and planning;
  
• the technological sphere with an interactive Geographic Information System (GIS) platform that integrates heritage-based data to illuminate cultural heritage as a source for resilience and adaptive responses;
  
• the individual sphere by evaluating decision-makers’ understanding of the synergies between cultural heritage and climate adaption, and fostering informed responses that integrate national and local interests, including community values and identities.

Focusing on the case studies of Kingston upon Hull (UK), Lillehammer, Innlandet (Norway), and Moncalieri (Turin, Italy), AGREE will uncover hidden potentials and barriers within cultural heritage governance. It will also produce an innovative HUL-based decision-making model to visualise past and new urban and climate interdependencies, comparing current national and local policy discourses with historical data sources that reveal lessons in urban resilience reflected in local strategies and changes in the built environment over time.

Research Approach and Design

AGREE addresses this main research question:

How can cultural heritage governance frameworks in the UK, Norway and Italy be leveraged to drive effective cross-sectoral climate adaptation strategies?

AGREE is structured into six interrelated Work Packages (WPs), each with an identified Work Package Lead (WPL), to effectively address the overarching research question and achieve the project objectives. Country-specific research activities will be led/coordinated by those in-country members of the research team, given their local expertise and networks.

Four WPs (WP1-4) focus on responding to a specific sub-research question (RQ) as described below. WP5 is dedicated to project coordination and management. WP6 fosters knowledge exchange, maximizes impact, and facilitates wide-reaching dissemination of project findings.

RQ1: What is the current role and effectiveness of cultural heritage governance frameworks in driving climate action across different countries and scales? (WP1 – Led by Dr Paloma Guzman)

WP1 is the cornerstone of our approach, laying the theoretical foundation by developing a conceptual framework that will guide the entire research across diverse analytical stages. This framework interlinks concepts related to the HUL approach and climate governance, facilitating a comprehensive understanding of their interplay. The framework’s efficacy is tested through an evaluation of the current state-of-practice of how cultural heritage policy frameworks drive climate adaptation, both at national and local levels, in three selected case studies: UK (Kingston upon Hull, also referred to as “Hull”), Norway (Lillehammer) and Italy (Moncalieri, Turin). The rationale behind these case study selections is provided below. WP1 delves into the examination of pivotal policy discourses and the conceptualisation of cultural heritage, that either hinder or facilitate transformative governance principles.

RQ2: How can local heritage-based historical knowledge and practices effectively contribute to innovative climate adaptation policies and strategies? (WP2 – Led by Dr Mesut Dinler)

WP2 delves into the dynamic interactions between human-environment relationships over time and their influence on policies and governance, uncovering historical adaptation strategies and analysing factors that enabled or hindered these responses. By developing a historical research framework, WP2 investigates impactful flooding events that shaped urban landscapes and governance in these cases across time, which serve as HUL laboratories. It analyses the relationship between cultural heritage, resilience, and climate adaptation strategies with a historical lens. WP2 identifies factors enabling or hindering adaptive responses, highlighting parallels and distinctions between different socio-cultural and environmental contexts. It will illuminate effective resilience strategies and identify multidimensional barriers, ultimately informing future policy development.

RQ3: In what ways can cultural heritage be leveraged to implement systemic approaches to climate action at various governance scales and across contexts? (WP3 – Led by Dr Francesca Giliberto)

Building on research insights from WP1 and WP2 and a literature review on systemic approaches to cultural heritage, climate adaptation, and sustainable development, WP3 conceptualises and prototypes a HUL-based decision-making model to advance systemic strategies for addressing climate change. This model provides the bedrock for cross-sectoral strategies designed to tackle climate change, encompassing both national and local governance dimensions. WP3 will engage with participatory methodologies tailored to each specific case study context, fostering a deeper understanding of policy dynamics and providing invaluable insights to refine the HUL-based model. WP3 also identifies the prerequisites for the model’s transferability, adaptability, and scalability.

RQ4: How can the implementation of systemic governance approaches for climate adaptation through cultural heritage be facilitated in the case studies? (WP4 – Led by Dr Paloma Guzman)

WP4 identifies potential entry points for the HUL-based model to effectively champion the sustainability of climate adaptation interventions and any transformative changes they may engender. Through collaboration with multidisciplinary experts via participative action methodologies, WP4 establishes pathways for integrative and interdisciplinary climate adaptation policies within the cultural heritage governmental sector of the three countries in question. WP4’s ultimate aim is to nurture transdisciplinary and systemic governance approaches that adeptly address the intricate complexities of climate change. It strives to enhance the capabilities and potential of governance actors for reflective revision processes concerning their roles in governance, thus contributing to the pursuit of sustainable climate adaptation.