Different approaches

A public, entrepreneurial or community approach – each of these three approaches has a distinct manner in which elements of the ecosystem are activated.

Based on the cases in the Atlas, we can distinguish three main approaches  to heritage-led regeneration: a public, an entrepreneurial and a community approach. Each of these approaches is related to the specific goals of different stakeholders in a historic urban area. And all have a distinct manner in which elements of the entrepreneurial ecosystem are activated.

Aims and goals

Public

  • Heritage preservation and conservation
  • Urban development (improving public realm / employment generation)
  • Reinvigorate urban identity through cultural heritage

Entrepreneurial

  • Increase in (social) entrepreneurial activity
  • Revive historical neighbourhoods through entrepreneurial/creative activities

Community

  • Fulfil community needs
  • Preserve local heritage
  • Create awareness of local heritage
  • Develop places of use for local community
Ingredients

Public

Entrepreneurial

Community

Heritage (focus / usage)

Public

  • Heritage preservation, conservation and adaptive re-use
  • Improve public access to heritage
  • Urban identity and character (city branding on national/international scale)

Entrepreneurial

  • Adaptive re-use of tangible heritage structures
  • Local traditions and traditional craftsmanship
  • Legacy of well-known entrepreneurs / creative minds

Community

  • Adaptive re-use of tangible heritage structures
  • Improved access to heritage for local citizens
  • Shared history and renewed identity (sense of place)
Physical (and digital) infrastructure

Public

  • Improve living conditions and urban infrastructure, including renovations of (heritage) buildings, public infrastructure, transportation and greening
  • Improve accessibility and usability of heritage for visitors and tourists

Entrepreneurial

  • Reutilise derelict structures / heritage as working spaces or places for entrepreneurs and innovators to meet
  • Create up to date physical and digital infrastructure
  • Create attractive spaces for visitors / tourists

Community

  • Reutilize derelict structures / heritage for community needs
  • Maintain physical heritage for community
Market place / demand

Public

  • Stimulate conditions for the development of (new) markets and improved visitor and touristic offering
  • Generate employment

Entrepreneurial

  • Create/improve visitor and touristic offering
  • High presence of cultural and creative industries

Community

  • Fulfil community needs, like for example (alternative forms of) housing or meaningful daily activities
Support organisations

Public

  • Role for (public) heritage agencies
  • Build new interpretation and education centres focused on valorising heritage

Entrepreneurial

  • Role for (non-profit) entrepreneurial support organisations
  • Build new support organisations including incubators / fab labs / coworking spaces / knowledge hubs

Community

  • Role for NGOs / foundations/ public institutions
  • Build new organisations focused on empowering local citizens
Human Resources

Public

  • Organise education and training for specific target groups
  • Citizen empowerment

Entrepreneurial

  • Upskill craftworkers / entrepreneurs
  • Attract specific talent to the region (e.g. creatives)

Community

  • Empower (vulnerable groups within) local community
  • Volunteers (who value maintaining heritage)
Knowledge

Public

  • Educational activities

Entrepreneurial

  • Focus on new knowledge development / innovation
  • Develop new technologies and services
  • Educational activities

Community

  • Focus on preservation and dissemination of intangible heritage
Financing (types of financial resources mobilized)

Public

  • Public funding; public-private partnerships
  • Can mobilise large sums of money through linking different governance layers (local – international) and through public and private partnerships

Entrepreneurial

  • Private funding; commercial funding (e.g. equity, loans); impact investors; business grants; public grants and subsidies
  • Need to develop self-sustaining business models to attract investment

Community

  • Public funding (local, regional, national, international); philanthropic funding; crowdfunding; donations
  • Can mobilize non-monetary resources, like volunteer input.
Leadership

Public

  • Publicly / politically driven
  • Driven by heritage management and/or urban development principles

Entrepreneurial

  • Coming from visionary individuals and entrepreneurs
  • Driven by entrepreneurial opportunities and/or inspiring characteristics of heritage

Community

  • Coming from citizens
  • Driven by wish to maintain heritage for local community
Institutional / cultural arrangements

Public

Entrepreneurial

Community

Urban Culture

Public

  •  Maintain / reinvigorate / reinvent urban identity

Entrepreneurial

  • Honour entrepreneurial/creative legacy

Community

  • Maintain shared, local history
Networks

Public

  • Utilize networks across governance layers (e.g. national / EU level)
  • Stimulate cooperation between public institutions, knowledge institutes and/or professional parties
  • Heritage Networks
  • Local stakeholders and citizen engagement

Entrepreneurial

  • Entrepreneurial / artistic / (inter-)sectoral networks
  • Bring together different types of expertise
  • Local, national and international networks
  • Utilize influential individuals and businesses to strengthen network

Community

  • Formal and informal community networks; focus on social inclusion, mobilization of financial (crowdfunding) and non-financial (expertise, volunteers) resources.
  • Draw expertise from international networks (e.g. through EU projects and international heritage networks)
  • Strengthen local cooperation between citizen groups, (non-profit) organisations and institutions.
Entrepreneurial Culture

Public

Entrepreneurial

  • Stimulate a creative and experimental culture

Community

Formal Institutions

Public

Driving role: leading in initiation, financing and execution of initiatives

Entrepreneurial

Facilitating role: providing access to buildings (below market price); public tenders and financial programmes to enable entrepreneurial activity; enabling heritage and urban development policy

Community

Facilitating role: enabling legal structures, providing access to buildings (below market price), providing financial and non-financial support.