Appropriations of Cultural Sustainability across Research Fields: A Global Scoping Review, 2001–2023

This scoping review examines the growing academic use of the concept cultural sustainability over the past two decades. Based on keyword searches across multiple databases, the study includes 213 peer-reviewed English-language articles published between 2001 and January 2023. It maps the temporal and geographical distribution of the concept, its disciplinary applications, and its varying definitions. Findings show a global increase in usage, with particularly strong growth in Asia and Africa. The concept is applied across a range of subfields and publication outlets, often in interdisciplinary contexts, though most prevalent within heritage studies. Coding for the tripartite definition of culture in, for or as sustainability (Soini and Dessein 2016) the most frequently used was “culture in sustainability,” emphasizing the preservation of culture for its intrinsic value. While such distinctions help clarify conceptual relationships, significant complexity remains. The review highlights the need for more refined understandings of culture’s role in sustainability efforts.