Preventive and planned conservation as a new management approach for built heritage: from a physical health check to empowering communities and activating (lost) traditions for local sustainable development

Preventive and planned conservation as a new management approach for built heritage: from a physical health check to empowering communities and activating (lost) traditions for local sustainable development "The successful preservation of an historic building, complex or city depends on its continued use and the daily care and maintenance" (D'Ayala and Fodde, 2008, p. xv). This statement reflects the basic principle of preventive and planned conservation approaches, which became increasingly present in European and international policies and research over the last three decades. Within these developments, special notice is made of the 2008 FP7 project SPRECOMAH, or Seminars on PREventive COnservation and Monitoring of the Architectural Heritage. In 2009, combined with a project supported by the Flemish Government and UNESCO, this resulted in the launch of the UNESCO Chair on preventive conservation, monitoring and maintenance of monuments and sites (PRECOM OS) at the Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation (University of Leuven) in collaboration with Monumentenwacht Vlaanderen and the University of Cuenca in Ecuador. Since its establishment, the international network has steadily grown with the aim of identifying research and educational activities in the field of preventive conservation, as well as developing new tools and techniques to improve preventive preservation strategies while considering a variety of cultural and social contexts.