Understanding local disaster culture to build resilience: The case of the historic centres of York and Amatrice

In the midst of sudden and dramatic environmental changes, ‘resilience thinking’ has become a leading approach. It underlines the adaptive capacity of a system to drive transformations and to deal with uncertainty. Yet, within the discipline of heritage conservation, the practical applications of the concept of resilience are underdeveloped, lacking methods to integrate it in the management of cultural heritage exposed to natural hazards. This thesis undertakes a comparative analysis of two historic centres: York (UK), affected by the 2015 flood, and Amatrice (IT), severely damaged by a series of earthquakes in 2016. From this, it is argued that resilience lies more broadly in the community's knowledge, awareness and perception of risk; in other words, in its ‘local disaster culture’. This concept is used throughout this thesis to emphasise the interdependent relationship between resilience and local communities, including the values and traditions that shape the historic environment. The use of GIS software in a participatory way (PGIS) is explored in two different contexts to define the multi dimensions of resilience, drawing on the existing knowledge and memories of the community. The development of thematic and interactive maps, which integrate both technical and subjective layers of knowledge, provide a holistic representation of resilience by both engaging and increasing community awareness. Thus, in this thesis, participatory mapping is used to integrate the tangible and intangible aspects of the local disaster culture with heritage values to guide future adaptations within the recovery process. From the results of the participatory activities, the concept of resilience emerged as contextual and connected to the local community’s culture and values. Therefore, resilience is the product of different levels of meanings connected to different stakeholders' personal and collective experiences. The experience in two different and significant historic centres provides a model able to inform heritage practitioners in long-term decision-making for historic building reconstruction and adaptation, embedding the local community’s perspectives and voices.