CULTURAL LANDSCAPES AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: THE ROLE OF ECOMUSEUMS

In the age of the knowledge economy, cultural institutions are drivers of local development to the extent to which they contribute to creating social capital and finding resilient responses to the challenges of globalisation, in line with the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development. This role is typical of ecomuseums, which base their action on the landscape project, the participation of communities, the sustainable growth of local systems, the care and management of cultural heritage in a creative way. In this regard, Italian ecomuseums offer a repertoire of good practices relevant to the themes of participatory territorial planning and management, and ability to generate new economies. The paper illustrates the studies conducted by the Research Group “Governance, design and enhancement of the built environment” at the ABC Department of the Politecnico di Milano in collaboration with the National Coordination of Italian Ecomuseums.