Integrated conservation of cultural built heritage

This paper will focus on integrated conservation of cultural built heritage starting from the analysis of related European policies in an economic perspective. Integrated conservation of cultural built heritage allows either a city or country to undertake socio­economic and cultural promotion and to identify mechanisms and strategies that are able to co­ordinate the multiplicity of funding and the plurality of both public and private agencies involved. This implies the need to create economic preconditions in order to promote an active involvement of all actors in the implementation and management of urban regeneration policies. These policies, of course, have to be coherent with social, cultural and economic objectives, which have been stressed by governments in the interest of a community. In this perspective several issues have to be faced, viz. the role of governments, public and private involvement in managing urban renewal policies, identification of funding mechanisms and rules by aiming to favour both transparent decision-making processes and a democrathic participation in the strategic planning process, and by taking in particular care of redistributive aspects. In this paper we wiil single out the necessity to identify proper rules and roles of all agents concerned (governments, public and private actors), by seeking to build the contours of a negotiation theory, which is based on a leverage principle, that is able to mitigate conflicts between different objectives, interests and values and to promote general consensus. A multidimensional approach is fruitful to address the complexity and plurality of policy perspectives and of cultural, historical, architectural, environmental, economic and ethical implications regarding the integrated conservation of our cultural built heritage. A balanced evaluation of resources, constraints, subjects involved, tools and mechanisms is able to render planning and management of renewal processes successful and to guarantee its social acceptance. Moreover, through evaluation