Underground Built Heritage as catalyser for Community Valorisation

This paper is about how framing an innovative approach for community empowerment by organising networks and consortia for preparing proposals in different research programme frameworks. In the beginning, there was as study for classifying underground spaces and using them as a solution for a sustainable over ground urban development. By advancing in the proposals preparation, the team developed a completely different vision. The underground space was more and more seen as a place for building local identity and sense of belonging, progressing from a functional to a cultural value, from a site conservation to a community valorisation approach, by giving centrality to the people and their needs. As first step, the project faced the challenge of regenerating urban areas by realising Underground Built Heritage potential for local communities and experimenting a methodological approach on sustainability transition. Just like a story, the paper describes the evolution of the approaches, and the implementation of the activities, also if unsuccessful in the competition. The consortium grew and matured, a network based on strong analysis and revision, whose members developed an impressive social capital and learned by any failure. Piece by piece, this network was able to achieve the success, and to start a COST Action, the CA 18110 "Underground Built Heritage as catalyser for Community Valorisation". The Action, funded for establishing and implementing an expert network, promotes balanced and sustainable approaches to preserve the Underground Built Heritage (UBH) and, at the same time, to realise the potential of the underground space in urban and rural areas for regeneration policies. The paper finally explains how a wellmotivated group of people can transform a network activity, with a little budget, in a research and on field project and how such a network can provide innovative tools for engaging and empowering local communities.