Challenges and Strategies for the Integration of Cultural Heritage in Urban Sprawl

Objective: To describe the methods of conservation and transformation of cultural heritage through a review of academic papers, focusing on how these are integrated into sustainable urban development. Methodology: An exhaustive narrative review of the scientific literature was carried out, using databases such as Scopus, Science Direct and SciELO. Specific terms related to “heritage”, ‘culture’ and “development” were used, and Boolean operators were applied to refine the search. The review covered a period from March to April 2024, considering articles published between 2021 and 2024, and resulted in a corpus of 10 relevant articles after a filtering process. Results: The results presented include an analysis of the strategies and approaches that different studies have used to address cultural heritage conservation. Several articles were identified that discuss both tangible and intangible heritage, highlighting the importance of social participation and the multidisciplinary approach. Conclusions: Heritage conservation and urban development are not opposites; they can complement each other if integrated into urban planning. The need for an integrated approach that balances heritage conservation with the demands of economic growth and tourism is emphasized. The article stresses the importance of conducting impact assessments before initiating development projects that may affect cultural heritage, which helps to minimize or avoid damage. The most important lesson is that it is essential to adopt sustainable approaches to urban development in order to protect the cultural and heritage identities of cities.