The INHAVIT project: sustainability-led approaches for the rehabilitation of the cultural built heritage of Montesinho natural park: research overview and initial findings

Abstract

The INHAVIT research project, funded by the Portuguese Foundation of Science and Technology (FCT), aims to study and identify the social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities that may be contributing to the current state of progressive abandonment of the rural villages of Montesinho Natural Park (MNP), in Portugal. Once the vulnerabilities are better understood, the main research question is whether the conservation and retrofitting of the rural built heritage in MNP can help reduce these vulnerabilities and how. The present paper intends to show the structure of the research project, focusing on the research methodology and specific tasks designed to tackle the project objectives. It also presents the preliminary results obtained from the first two field survey missions carried out at the MNP whose primary purpose was getting a screening of the park’s current state regarding the loss of authenticity of its vernacular heritage.