Call n. 24

Number TWENTY-FOUR

Introduction to issue n. 24 of 2026: Culture, Heritage and communities towards peace and beyond crises

Addressing the issue of reconstruction beyond crises, be they war or another type of man-made or natural disaster, appears complex, but it is a challenge that the construction industry cannot ignore at present.

Starting from the well-known meanings of value as a decision-making parameter for transformational activities, as far as the beauty and safety of the anthropized world, and above all the health and happiness of entire communities are concerned, we might recall that "... the triumphs of democracy come not from the ballot box, but from the circumstances that make that democracy possible: equality, responsibility for one's actions... We should be aware that, by transforming ourselves into many Greenspan monsters — a role for which we are generally educated from birth, baptized in the cradle of consumption, and burdened with material desires until death — our individual and collective happiness will be irremediably destroyed. ... It is not by seeking happiness individually that we will find it: the latest can only arise from the freedom of living together and of participating in the democratic politics that will help us to provide proper value to our common future."[1]

If, therefore, a value is considered and respected by assigning importance, price and meaning to certain elements of our civil life, it is not possible to neglect the artistic, historical, social, and cultural value that entire generations of human communities have bestowed on cities, villages, and countries, by making homogeneous the vision of civil societies and their built environment. In few words, the tangible and intangible heritage that has been created and transformed upon centuries.

In particular, in recent years, a number of processes infringing the peace and serenity of many territories have been ongoing, resulting in situations of profound crisis and instability, environmental, social, and even tangible such as the physical destruction of many manufactures, which, indeed, for entire generations have represented the profound meaning of peoples, so generating a cultural heritage that is difficult to replace.

Today, therefore, reconstruction does not involve only returning housing, public buildings, and infrastructure to the victims, but also taking on the task of preserving the memory of the profound local identity of the past that created biodiversity as well as cultural and regional multiplicity of various peoples.

The aim, but also the opening of a discussion, within this issue of SMC is that of evaluating the action potential of a sustainable project according to the needs of post-crisis reconstruction, particularly in the Mediterranean, now torn apart by wars and guerrilla warfare.

Issue n. 24: Culture, Heritage and communities towards peace and beyond crisesin particular declined according to the following sub-topics:

1. Respectful Reconstruction after Conflict
2. Territorial Regeneration following Natural Calamities
3. Resilience and Prevention in Man-Made Disasters

[1] Cfr. Patel R. (2022) Il valore delle cose, Feltrinelli, pag 199.