Innovative practices for sustainable development of resistant communities

Italian inner areas, marked by ongoing depopulation and service reduction, present considerable challenges to territorial development. The necessity for innovative approaches that integrate regeneration, art, care, creativity, and the management of cultural commons is thus crucial (Ostrom, 1990). This study seeks to investigate how the convergence of these elements can foster resilient communities through hybridization practices between academic and community knowledge, energizing territorial resistance experiences. It examines the creation of hybrid cultural ecosystems capable of supporting regeneration across various scales (Coppola 2023). The focus is on "inner areas," less accessible territorial spaces where marginalization is pronounced, but also where untapped potential for regeneration that respects local identities and fosters new sustainable development models exists. Inner Areas has become a laboratory for social innovation on the margins. The artists, cultural innovators, and their respective networks have rebalanced the territorial narrative by replacing what had been a local absence of an intentional and willing community, thereby transforming abandoned buildings and public spaces through innovative cultural visions. The research project "Calabria Creative Living Lab" (CALL), supported by the POR CALABRIA 2014/2020 under action FESR 1.3.2, provides an innovative analysis of how integrating technological innovation with community participation can significantly enhance cultural heritage. This research underscores how hybrid cultural ecosystems, through a synergy of regeneration, art, care, and creativity, can stimulate community resistance in inner areas. The main goal is to compare various open experimentation laboratories and creative living labs that have utilized participatory tools for community engagement (Coppola & Sica, 2023). It aims to reflect on how these methods can create new opportunities for cultural valorization, connecting key intervention sectors, improving territorial usage, and promoting integrated service networks and systems. Furthermore, it seeks to build a new integrated territorial development model, supported by an ICT system, that leverages local cultural offerings through community collaboration. It also reflects on the social significance of complex processes supporting an innovative model of knowledge, management, use, and communication of cultural heritage and services, emphasizing the importance of collaborative rationality in public policy, crucial for community engagement in decision-making and for constructing integrated territorial development models. The findings reveal that active community participation in managing and valorizing cultural commons (Bertacchini et al. 2012; Giovene di Girasole E., 2023) not only strengthens territorial identity and belonging but also fosters new participatory governance models. Additionally, the spread of territorial projects through artistic and cultural practices highlights the role of these practices in building collective imaginaries that strengthen connections between people and places, underscoring the importance of artistic and cultural practices in promoting social cohesion and community regeneration. The research concludes by stressing the need for integrating multi-disciplinary and participatory approaches in urban and territorial planning, demonstrating how collaboration and innovation in the public sector through co-creation can effectively contribute to inner area regeneration, enhance local community sustainable development, and address complex social challenges through collective engagement.