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Ulviyya Poladova

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Cultural heritage should be treated not only as something to preserve but also as a living part of urban development and community life, Benedetto Zacchiroli, director of DiverCity, the UNESCO ICCAR Youth Bootcamp for Inclusive and Sustainable Cities, and President of the European Coalition of Cities against Racism (ECCAR), told AzerNEWS.

Zacchiroli stressed that heritage must become an active development asset rather than a static symbol of the past.

Coming from Italy - a country rich in architectural and historical heritage - Zacchiroli warned against what he described as the "museification" of cities, where historic areas are preserved visually but disconnected from everyday life and local communities.

"We have to avoid the museification of the cities," he noted. "Architectural heritage and historical heritage have to be lived by the people."

According to Zacchiroli, heritage preservation should not become a purely top-down process driven only by authorities or developers. Instead, local residents must play a central role in shaping how historic areas evolve.

"It cannot be just an operation that is top to bottom. It has to be co-designed with the community that already lives there", he explained.

He said that when urban regeneration ignores local communities, cities risk creating what he described as "psychological displacement" - a situation where residents no longer feel emotionally connected to the places where they live.

At the same time, he argued that successful urban transformation requires balance. Cities should not rush development projects, but they also should not delay change unnecessarily. Instead, regeneration should move at a pace that allows citizens and authorities to imagine the future of the city together.

Zacchiroli added that building inclusive and sustainable cities depends on cooperation between governments, communities, and urban planners.

According to him, cultural heritage becomes truly valuable when it remains connected to everyday urban life and continues to serve the people who live within it.