Enhancing repopulation in a decaying historical neighborhood through collaborative networking: A Dynamic Performance Governance approach

Historic centers, as the internationally recognized heritage of the cities, and among the most valuable assets in urban Italy, have been underutilized, devitalized, and wasted (Pellegrini & Micelli, 2019). In fact, urban degradation has been pervasive and remaining also in other industrialized countries (Serrano et al., 2016). Many historic centers have been affected by urban deterioration and depopulation for the past two centuries (Pough & Wan, 2007), and the problem persists today. This research underlines the importance of employing a collaborative governance perspective in designing policies, in terms of not only fostering effective local governments' agendas but also promote active citizenship approaches, which focus on the socioeconomic the context in the historical urban area of Vucciria (Italy). To achieve sustainable local repopulation through fostering urban revitalization, tourism attractiveness, and collaborative management, the study employs a desired outcome-based Dynamic Performance Governance (DPG) approach. The framework explains how inter-organizational objectives, performance drivers, and shared strategic resources can be identified and mapped in order to provide desired community results that eventually contribute to sustainable local repopulation.