Abstract
The Historic urban districts are increasingly challenged by urban expansion, cultural fragmentation and the underuse of local heritage assets. This study examined Surat Thani Old Town, Thailand, to develop and evaluate a participatory conservation model integrating heritage regeneration, learning street development and local market revitalization. The study employed Participatory Action Research, Cultural Mapping, stakeholder meetings, field surveys, interviews, questionnaires and ROI/SROI assessment. A total of 276 participants from academic, government, private and public sectors were purposively selected to represent key stakeholders involved in urban heritage development. The findings revealed concrete regeneration outcomes in both physical and socio-cultural dimensions. Cultural Mapping across six Old Town communities documented historical narratives, community calendars, intangible cultural practices, cultural landscapes and 551 architecturally significant buildings. Participatory planning led to the selection of Ban Lang and Ban Nok Daan communities as pilot areas for learning streets and local markets. These areas were developed through mural art, living museum concepts, cultural tourism routes, local product prototypes and a web application for presenting cultural tourism and learning routes. The project also strengthened community capacity by training local leaders as urban learning managers. ROI and SROI assessments indicated that cultural and environmental capital could be transformed into social and economic value through increased heritage awareness, community participation, cultural tourism potential and local product development. The study concludes that participatory conservation can serve as an effective area-based mechanism for revitalizing historic urban districts and advancing sustainable learning city development in Southeast Asia.education.
Keywords: Community-based Heritage Conservation, Historic Urban Landscape Regeneration, Old Town District Revitalization, Participatory Urban Regeneration, Social Return on Investment.