At the “Smart and Sustainable Planning for Cities and Regions” conference in Bolzano, Italy, a special session called “Regenerating Mountain Villages: Nature and Culture, Heritage and Landscape” will take place on 10 December, 2025, from 14:00 – 16:00. This special session is organized by Dr. Fan Li, a senior researcher at the University of Kassel, Germany. Read more about her here.

Session Description

Regenerating Mountain Villages: Nature and Culture, Heritage and Landscape

Track 2 – Adapting Cities and Regions

The UNESCO approach to the Historic Urban Landscape provides a conceptual tool to understand and preserve cultural heritage, particularly applicable to rural villages in mountainous regions. In these areas, a single technical term cannot fully capture the entire landscape. As a type of cultural heritage within a mountainous setting, mountain villages are deeply rooted in the integration of cultural and natural landscapes. This integration is often more visible than in metropolitan heritage. As such, the regeneration of mountain villages presents distinct challenges, including the management of water and forest systems, the development of up-down transportation networks, economic revitalization, and the preservation of local intangible heritage. Addressing these challenges requires interdisciplinary research to develop strategies that help rural mountain areas adapt to modern life. This session envisions cases of rural regeneration across different geographic zones, including the mountain village of Songyang in the hinterland of Shanghai, China; Nyamira in the hinterland of Nairobi, Kenya; and a mountain village in the Alps. Songyang and Nyamira are partner counties working on the development of value-added tea plantations, an integral component of both the cultural and natural landscapes. The session will explore how cultural and natural landscapes are conserved, adapted, and transformed in various parts of the world while maintaining heritage, local traditions, and the well-being of local communities.

The deadline to submit an abstract to this session is 3 August 2025. Click here to find submission information.

Photo by Marek Piwnicki on Unsplash.