Nurturing Cultural Heritages and Place Attachment through Street Art—A Longitudinal Psycho-Social Analysis of a Neighborhood Renewal Process

The Faro Convention emphasizes the link between cultural heritage and place-related identity, highlighting their role in fostering environmental community belonging. Urban renewal projects centered around contemporary street art have gained popularity worldwide but often exhibit unclear impacts on local populations. Few studies explored this topic using a psychological longitudinal approach. Addressing research gap, our study analyzed changes place attachment neighborhood image five years after implementing street-art-based project Milan suburb. Moreover, project’s impact neighborhood’s historical “personality” as perceived by residents citizens (n = 296) was examined. A survey designed administered to compare trends these variables 2017 (project start) 2022, applying content analysis of variance techniques. Results showed that inspired history culture had positive effect residents’ image, without disrupting traditions. However, no significant were found among non-residents. These findings highlight significance urban policies prioritize district’s social history. Such not only safeguard citizens’ well-being foster attachment, could also revitalize imagery, promoting innovation creativity.