NEW CULTURAL TOURISM SPACES IN HISTORICAL CITIES: WHERE SUSTAINABILITY MEETS CREATIVITY

Historical cities face the constant challenge of balancing preservation with transformation. While their centres often struggle with overcrowding, gentrification and the pressures of mass tourism, other areas remain underutilised—former industrial zones, hospital districts or forgotten urban spaces, invisible both to tourists and residents. These overlooked places carry the potential to become hubs of creativity and cultural renewal. If their development is guided by sustainable principles, tourism can serve not as a threat but as a complement to social life, generating opportunities for local communities, enriching cultural expression and relieving the pressure on heritage districts.

Today, with access to more precise data and advanced digital tools, including artificial intelligence, cities can design new cultural tourism programs for creative zones in which tourists can develop their creative potential through a deep involvement and connection with locals. These solutions can minimise the risks of exclusion, over-commercialisation, and touristification. The challenge lies in integrating creativity with technology, ensuring that interventions support residents as much as they attract visitors. This webinar will explore how innovative approaches to place-making and cultural programming can reshape neglected spaces into inclusive and sustainable environments.

Together we will consider how tourism, instead of repeating past mistakes, can become a catalyst for resilience, authenticity and future-oriented urban development.