Heritage-centred Design: A Methodology for Community-Authored Knowledge Infrastructure in Creative Cities

Abstract

This paper reports on a methodology developed through field practice in the
UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN): an approach in which the material knowledge,
economic circumstances, and cultural authorship rights of living craft and gastronomic
communities constitute the governing constraints of every design decision — from the user
interface of a documentation tool to the governance architecture of a cluster-level digital
platform. The methodology, which the paper terms heritage-centred design, is
operationalized through a four-step framework — territory mapping, heri-telling, gamified
engagement, and structured digital implementation — and demonstrated across four case
studies spanning the C&FA and Gastronomy clusters: the C&FA digital hub
(craftsfolkart.org); a gastronomic heritage documentation project across the Arabian
Peninsula; the Bergamo Cheese Valleys project (two completed editions); and an
architectural restoration project in Latin America. A five-dimension impact framework
confirms measurable outcomes across social, economic, digital, educational, and
institutional dimensions. The paper examines the design dimensions of this field practice
and the questions it raises for knowledge infrastructure design wherever living cultural
knowledge intersects with digital systems, governance accountability, and community
livelihood.