Prioritization Methodology for Resilience Enhancement of Historic Areas Facing Climate Change-Related Hazards

It is demonstrated that climate change is leading to intense and frequent extreme events. As a consequence, the impact on cultural heritage has increased, accelerating its deterioration. Climate-related hazards that can affect historic areas are dependent on both the nature of the risk and the specific characteristics of the heritage that is under threat, as well as the inherent vulnerability of the geographical environment and historic area. Conservation interventions at historic sites are generally focused on improving their resilience and minimizing any long-term deterioration of materials and works of art. However, conservation interventions are rarely focused on responding to the threat of sudden damage during emergency management phases. In these scenarios, a quick response is crucial when selecting the most appropriate intervention from the different solutions and the very many factors that they may take into account. The aim of this research is to develop a multi-criteria prioritization methodology that supports the intervention decision. The prioritization methodology entailed the consideration of specific scenarios and hazard types and their characteristics and the application of MIVES methodology together with the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Technical, socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental aspects were then weighted to produce a prioritization index for decision-making in response to each scenario.