No. 31 (2026): Risks and built environment: From knowledge to project
Research and Experimentation

Risk resilience in historic urban environments: a user-centred approach

Enrico Quagliarini
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Edile e Architettura, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Italia
Mariella De Fino
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Ambientale, del Territorio, Edile e di Chimica, Politecnico di Bari, Italia
Elena Cantatore
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Ambientale, del Territorio, Edile e di Chimica, Politecnico di Bari, Italia
Fabio Fatiguso
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Ambientale, del Territorio, Edile e di Chimica, Politecnico di Bari, Italia
Gabriele Bernardini
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Edile e Architettura, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Italia

Published 2026-07-29

Keywords

  • Built environment,
  • building vulnerability,
  • user exposure,
  • digital technologies,
  • multi-hazard

How to Cite

Quagliarini, E., De Fino, M., Cantatore, E., Fatiguso, F., & Bernardini, G. (2026). Risk resilience in historic urban environments: a user-centred approach. TECHNE - Journal of Technology for Architecture and Environment, (31), 207–219. https://doi.org/10.36253/techne-18619

Abstract

Historic Urban Built Environments are stressed by several risks, which can be either single or combined, with effects exacerbated by heritage features, user dynamics, and poor resilience level. Herein, (multi-)risk reduction and mitigation imply following a user-centred, dynamic approach, exploiting simulation tools and virtual reality risk communications towards stakeholders to additionally increase awareness and preparedness. This research aims at developing predictive models and tools for assessing and mitigating single to multiple risks in these scenarios, considering the interactions of users with hazards, physical vulnerability factors, and deployable strategies. Examples from BE S2ECURe and ReACT projects, adopting this approach, are shown to demonstrate its capabilities.

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