Cultural Heritage for urban regeneration. Developing methodology through a knowledge exchange program

The topic of urban regeneration shows a high complexity for the large number of issues and stakeholders involved. Within the city, the social and political dynamics interact and link together with the physical recovery of places. This complexity appears even greater in context that has just started recovery processes. What is the role of cultural heritage in the transformation processes? The existing built is an extraordinary condenser of micro-stories, material culture, traditional construction techniques and therefore identity: recognizing its potential and working for its recovery means to give to the cities more opportunity for their revitalization. Working for a better life quality of the inhabitants and improving their general conditions means strengthening the identity and the sense of belonging. The paper illustrates a path that, through a concrete knowledge exchange experience, tries to develop a methodological process. A learning from practice method was built through a study of local realities that finds in the knowledge exchange with the local authorities and administrators a real opportunity to increase the tools to face the future challenges. The object of investigation is represented from eleven cities in Europe and Central Asia, which are passing through real development phases and, because of their rich diversity, are an interesting subject of discussion and comparison.