A GIS-based model for multicriteria assessment of architectural cultural heritage conservation status

This paper aims to develop a model for assessing the conservation state of monuments and cultural heritage sites, assisting local decision-makers in prioritizing conservation, preservation, and management actions. The research focuses on religious monuments in the Moldavian Plain from Romania using multi-criteria analyses to evaluate risks from natural factors, socio-demographic elements, and economic development. The used methods aim to standardize the level of natural and anthropogenic risk for religious cultural heritage in the counties of Botoșani and Iasi through quantitative and qualitative approaches. For the digitization of monument churches, data from the official list of historical monuments, topographic maps and aerial photographs were combined. A tabular database was created, integrating various risk indicators, with scores from 1 to 5, to obtain a total risk score for each monument. The study integrates both natural and human geographical parameters into a Geographic Information System (GIS) to create a pre-assessment risk model based on existing data. This model could serve as a tool for decision-makers and specialists to identify the most vulnerable sites, optimize expenses, and prioritize actions, ultimately saving time and resources. This work was co-funded by the European Social Fund, through Operational Programme Human Capital 2014-2020, project number OCU/993/6/13/153322, project title” Educational and training support for Ph.D. students and young researchers in preparation for insertion into the labor market”.