Georgios Artopoulos

Hybrid Heritagescapes as Urban Commons in Mediterranean Cities Georgios Artopoulos

The opportunities digital technologies are offering, not only for safeguarding but also for enriching heritage are at an early development stage. The digital interfaces and interactive narratives collected through playful citizen's engagement and storytelling contribute to the preservation of tangible and intangible heritage. At a time when Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), and in particular social media, are empowering citizens to engage with the production of the city, heritage must be seen as a fundamental differentiator in the creation of places. It is a strategic asset, which enriches the cultural, social and economic potential of places. This publication presents the discussions that took place during the International Training School "Hybrid Heritagescapes as Urban Commons in Mediterranean Cities: accessing the deep-rooted spatial interfaces of cities", convened at The Science and Technology in Archaeology Research Center of the Cyprus Institute, in Nicosia, co-organised by the Cost Action TU1306 "Fostering knowledge about the relationship between Information and Communication Technologies and Public Spaces supported by strategies to improve their use and attractiveness (CYBERPARKS)", between 30 October and 3 November 2017. Graduates and tutors from various disciplines, such as history, archaeology, architecture, landscape design, urban planning and computer science, from 10 European countries visited Nicosia, the last divided capital in Europe to explore how ICT and interactive narratives can contribute creative practices of using the built heritage of Mediterranean cities for the reactivation of neglected urban spaces through playful engagement and storytelling.