Cultural Territorial Planning for Innovative Scenarios of Sustainable Development: Opportunities and Strategies for European Cities and Regions

Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artefacts and intangible attributes of a group that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations. That is why it plays a fundamental role in European integration and is an important resource for the development of local societies. However, its management requires an interdisciplinary approach, including town planning, communication and marketing, training and education, as well as the various uses of landscape, agriculture, industry and tourism. The paper focuses on desirable development scenarios based on the enhancement of local resources, within a process where sustainability is a fundamental choice and particular attention is paid to the opportunities for the EU lagging regions in the programming period 2014-2020.