A Critical Analysis of Optimization Algorithms for Cultural Heritage Conservation and Management

Heritage buildings symbolize cultural identity, architectural character, and historical epitome of communities. World heritage sites are extensively used in marketing campaigns, and they act as an alluring means for promoting tourism development. Heritage conservation has emerged and evolved significantly in global society. In recent years, optimization algorithms have been applied across multiple decision‐making domains related to heritage buildings. However, their applications are fragmented across different research areas and lack a comprehensive synthesis. In light of the foregoing, this research study synthesizes the existing literature across six key multidisciplinary domains associated with the planning, conservation, and management of cultural heritage, namely: heritage conservation and restoration, structural analysis and seismic retrofitting, tourism and visitor development, sustainability performance analysis, adaptive reuse, and emergency evacuation. With that said, the paper introduces a mixed‐review method approach that blends systematic literature review with scientometric analysis to analyze relevant literature pertaining to the use of optimization algorithms (exact and metaheuristics) in the major functional and management domains of heritage buildings. This study establishes a reference for developing future driven optimization models for decision‐making in the planning, conservation, and management of cultural heritage.