Harmonizing Cultural Landscape with Resilience: Climate Adaptation Strategies in the Arno and Hudson River Basins

Ahmadreza Shirvani Dastgerdi () and Giuseppe De Luca
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Ahmadreza Shirvani Dastgerdi: Department of Architecture, University of Florence, Via Micheli, 250121 Firenze, Italy
Giuseppe De Luca: Department of Architecture, University of Florence, Via Micheli, 250121 Firenze, Italy

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-24

Abstract: Climate change increasingly threatens heritage-rich river basins, yet the integration of traditional ecological knowledge into formal environmental governance remains underexplored. This study investigates how historically embedded water management practices in Tuscany’s Arno River and New York’s Hudson River can inform adaptive strategies under conditions of climate uncertainty. Employing a Triangulated mixed-methods approach—including a systematic narrative literature review, variable coding (hydrological dynamics, cultural heritage, governance structures, economic livelihoods, and adaptive knowledge), and effect size analysis—we conducted a comparative assessment to uncover regional challenges, capacities, and implementation dynamics. The findings reveal that while both basins contend with hydrological volatility and fragmented governance, the Arno benefits from legally embedded heritage practices that continue to shape canal-based agriculture and flood mitigation. In contrast, the Hudson showcases strong multi-level stakeholder engagement and ecological restoration, though with less institutional reliance on traditional land stewardship. By integrating codified traditional practices with participatory governance and applying a weighted implementation structure, this study illustrates how resilience planning can be more context-sensitive, operationally feasible, and socially inclusive. Ultimately, this research positions cultural landscapes as active infrastructure for climate adaptation—provided they are institutionally supported and community-endorsed—offering a transferable model for policy innovation in similarly vulnerable riverine systems.

Keywords: resilient landscape; cultural heritage; conservation; climate change adaptation; traditional practices (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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