RURITAGE is a four-year-long EU-funded research project, initiated June 2018, which strives to enable rural regeneration through heritage. The project aims to sustainably enhance local heritage for regional and community development. The intention is to regenerate rural areas with the help of the Systemic Innovation Areas (SIA) framework which identifies unique heritage potential within rural communities. The recognised SIAs are Pilgrimage, Resilience, Sustainable Local Food Production, Integrated Landscape Management, Migration and Art and Festivals.
Plymouth researchers design and implement a co-monitoring programme to document the impact of Ruritage interventions on individuals, communities and landscapes. Based on both ubiquitous technologies and community workshops, My Cult-Rural Toolkit is designed to gain a broader and deeper understanding of the varied ways that people interact with their environment. Using cultural ecosystem services framework, we identify those benefits of CES that are supported or developed through the Ruritage actions. The Plymouth team also contributes to the data management of the project and the broader communication of the results to multiple stakeholders.
