A Stakeholder Analysis for the Adaptive Reuse Assessment of Architectural Heritage: Towards an Integrated Approach

The adaptive reuse of heritage buildings is a complex decision problem because of the coexistence of different objectives and constraints, such as the preservation of the tangible and intangible value of the building, the limited number of resources, the needs of the community and the interests of private investors. According to the New Urban Agenda, the safeguard of cultural heritage sites and inclusive urbanization are key actions in the global commitment for sustainable urban development. The aim of this study is to identify an interdisciplinary methodology to address adaptive reuse in the earliest planning phases by combining several techniques, such as situation analysis, stakeholder mapping, value assessment and multi-criteria decision-making. Our model has been tested on an Italian case study in Arezzo, an industrial building listed as a national heritage site. With the deindustrialization of the area, its industrial operations ceased and it was later abandoned under threat of demolition. After years of unsustainable redevelopment driven by economic factors, this study is the first attempt to evaluate the adaptability of the building for new uses while negotiating the interests of the stakeholders. This approach makes it possible to effectively compare different scenarios and identify the most satisfactory use of historic buildings. After mapping stakeholder demands, this research proposes a sensitivity analysis which explores the influence of stakeholders on the multi-criteria decision-making method. The results confirm the importance of including many stakeholders in the process and prove the potential of the methodology in managing the adaptive reuse of historic buildings.