A high degree of complexity, be it in terms of governance or actors’ diversity in local contexts, characterises heritage development projects, which increasingly rely on private interventions or public-private partnerships. In this context, the interplay between public and private interventions becomes a critical arena for research. Tensions, negotiations and innovations increasingly shape heritage development while highlighting the challenges and opportunities of the intervention of private actors in the revitalisation of urban heritage – particularly in contexts where heritage is commodified as a comparative advantage for rehabilitation projects. The main objective of this conference, which specifically focuses on the role of private actors in heritage urban contexts (UNESCO World Heritage sites, conservation areas, historic centres, etc.), is to explore the relationships and dynamics established between “heritage entrepreneurs” and other urban stakeholders in diverse heritage contexts as a means to shed light on how these combined actions produce heritage today.

Argument

Scientific research on heritage has experienced remarkable growth (Harrison, 2013). From identity quests across territorial scales to the rise of the tourist economy (Gravari-Barbas, 2020), the concept of heritage has broadened considerably, encompassing both tangible and intangible elements or urban landscapes (Sonkoly, 2017). To understand its transformative power, a broad array of studies examines how heritage is (being) constructed (Morisset, 2009; Heinich, 2016; Brumann & Gfeller, 2021), approaching the social dynamics and meanings attributed to heritage through processes of heritagization or heritage-making (Harrison, 2013). By investigating these processes, researchers reveal how heritage is negotiated by multiple social actors (Berthold & Mercier, 2015; Gravari-Barbas & Violier, 2003). In current research and policies, heritage is associated with a range of societal and economic values (Lazzaretti 2012; Dedieu et al., 2023). The revitalisation of urban heritage has predominantly been studied through the lens of public policies and public sector (Guinand, 2015). The role of private stakeholders in historic context has been neglected or focused on some exceptional figures (Guinand, 2022). However, private entrepreneurs play a significant role in shaping urban heritage (Berthold & Mercier, 2015; Guinand et al., 2025). This happens in a context of declining public budgets that have strengthened the need for private investment (Baarveld et al., 2013) and in a context where sustainability issues gain a particularly central role, encouraging or imposing significant transformations of this built stock. 

A high degree of complexity, be it in terms of governance or actors’ diversity in local contexts, characterises heritage development projects, which increasingly rely on private interventions or public-private partnerships. In this context, the interplay between public and private interventions becomes a critical arena for research. Tensions, negotiations and innovations increasingly shape heritage development while highlighting the challenges and opportunities of the intervention of private actors in the revitalisation of urban heritage - particularly in contexts where heritage is commodified as a comparative advantage for rehabilitation projects (Berg, 2017).

Analysing private actors' role in urban heritage revitalisation projects is particularly complicated, since these actors are extremely diverse, ranging from not for-profit companies to profit-driven ones. 

Beyond heritage contexts, real estate developers are seen as major, and often central, players in the production of urban space (Pollard, 2024). They appear as intermediaries, converging and concentrating the resources of different stakeholders to bring a project to fruition (Coulondre, 2017). They are described as highly adaptive, forward-looking actors, characterized by their ability to read and respond to market conditions and changes with flexibility (Haila, 1991). Consequently, the study of their strategies and interventions in historic urban contexts and on historic objects can provide valuable insights into the changing economic and even societal values associated with urban heritage. From the 2000s onwards, a new research angle has emerged on real estate developers, adopting a more relational perspective that emphasises their interconnectedness within the city’s social fabric (Coulondre, 2017; Pollard, 2011). As a result, the actions of developers are viewed as deeply embedded in specific urban contexts, which enable the territorialization of their activities (Fauveaud, 2016). This approach reframes developers not merely as profit-driven actors, but as stakeholders in a complex system of relationships that structures their decisions and strategies (Cailly & Vanier, 2010). 

Within the context of renewed relational perspectives, private developers can be “heritage entrepreneurs” playing a dynamic role in heritage preservation and revitalisation.

The main objective of this conference, which specifically focuses on the role of private actors in heritage urban contexts (UNESCO World Heritage sites, conservation areas, historic centres, etc.), is to explore the relationships and dynamics established between “heritage entrepreneurs” and other urban stakeholders in diverse heritage contexts as a means to shed light on how these combined actions produce heritage today. 

We invite proposals which align with the following themes:

• Urban stakeholders’ relations and ecosystems, their impacts on tangible and intangible heritage (Guinand 2015, 2021) and their contribution to the revitalisation and sustainability of historic city centres (Berthold 2012, 2018; Scaffidi et al., 2025).
• Profiles of “heritage entrepreneurs” and rehabilitation practices – professional attributes, specialised expertise and operational characteristics – defining the capacities and market positioning of real estate developers within urban heritage contexts.
• Case studies of heritage revitalisation – understood also as the adaptive reuse of what is “already there” – emerging as a potential resource for advancing sustainability objectives (Nijkamp & Riganti, 2008), tackling urban sprawl (Baarveld et al., 2013), as well as offering a means to address housing shortages and affordable housing (Boukezzoula, 2023).
• Theoretical explorations of reinterpretation, extension or scaling up of the concept of heritage historically (Oláh, 2025) and currently. This theme seeks to critically examine heritage interpretations in neoliberal urban contexts by offering insights and deciphering concepts such as the “neoliberal city” (Morel Journel & Pinson, 2017; Peck, 2010), “speculative urbanism” (Leitner & Sheppard, 2023) and else.
• Analysis of discourses and actions of real estate developers in heritage contexts and new forms of negotiation between use, exchange and sustainability (Peck & Theodor, 2015).

Extending beyond academic inquiry, the conference also seeks to gather contributions that will inform localised and practical policy recommendations, providing territorial decision-making support for urban heritage contexts (Berthold, 2011).

Context 

This conference marks the end of the project “Heritage Entrepreneurs: mechanisms, instruments and sustainability of heritage redevelopment projects in Bordeaux and Quebec City” (HerEntrep), which seeks to explore how for and not for profit actors intervene in protected urban heritage contexts, interact with multiple stakeholders, balance heritage preservation with sustainable development and economic considerations while also contributing to adaptive reuse.

Submission guidelines 

Please submit your abstract (between 2000 and 3000 characters, including spaces), along with a biographical note (max. 100 words) and your contact information (email, affiliation) via email to herentrep-conference@univ-paris1.fr. 

• Submission of abstracts:  before 31 March 2026

• Notification to authors: 30 April 2026

Scientific committee

• Étienne Berthold | associate professor, Department of Geography, Laval University
• Maryse Boivin | professor, Department of Urban and Tourism Studies, University of Quebec in Montreal
• Laura Brown | lecturer-researcher in architecture and urban planning, ESPI École supérieure des professions immobilières, Bordeaux
• Maria Gravari-Barbas | professor, Interdisciplinary Tourism Research Team, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University
• Sandra Guinand | researcher, Institute for Urban and Regional Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences
• Sébastien Jacquot | associate professor, Institute for Research and Advanced Studies in Tourism, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University
• Guy Mercier | professor, Department of Geography, Laval University
• Lucie K. Morisset | professor, Department of Urban and Tourism Studies, University of Quebec in Montreal
• Gábor Oláh | postdoctoral researcher, Interdisciplinary Tourism Research Team, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University
• Jean Rousseau | lecturer, Department of Geography, Laval University
• Élodie Texier | lecturer, Department of Marketing Techniques, La Rochelle University - University Technical Institute