Cultural heritage around the world is increasingly exposed to the effects of extreme weather events, disasters and intensive tourism. Particularly challenging is the situation of sites of regional and local significance, which are often not covered by systematic monitoring.
To address this challenge, a research team led by Łukasz Quirini-Popławski from the Stanisław Leszczycki Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, which also included researchers from the Faculty of Geographical Sciences, University of Lodz – Marzena Makowska-Iskierka and Marta Nalej – developed an innovative digital tool based on GIS (Geographic Information Systems) technology.
The solution was designed for institutions involved in cultural heritage management and enables the efficient collection of field data as well as the documentation of the condition of heritage assets.
A New Application Serving Society
The tool uses the ArcGIS Survey123 application and was tested in three Polish spa towns: Krynica-Zdrój, Szczawnica and Uniejów. The survey covered, among other things, historic spa facilities, residential buildings, public buildings and religious monuments.
As Marta Nalej from the Faculty of Geographical Sciences, University of Lodz explains:
– The tool we have developed is a mobile GIS system based on the ArcGIS Survey123 application, which enables field inventorying and continuous monitoring of historic monuments. During a site visit, the user records the location of the asset, its state of preservation, function, threats, conservation needs and photographic documentation. The data is automatically synchronised with a central database, where it can be spatially analysed, visualised on maps and used to establish conservation priorities.
The study results confirmed the usefulness of the application both for preventive conservation activities and for rapid damage assessment, as well as for engaging local communities in heritage protection.
– Traditional post-disaster damage assessment can take several months, whereas the use of mobile GIS makes it possible to document damage in real time and share data almost immediately through online synchronisation or by working offline and uploading the information later. As a result, institutions responsible for protecting heritage assets can make decisions concerning the safeguarding and restoration of sites much more quickly
– says Marta Nalej.
She adds: – Local communities can participate in monitoring through crowdsourcing. Residents and tourists can report observed threats, upload photographs and update information about the condition of historic monuments using simple GIS applications. A positive surprise was that the tool could be used effectively by teams with only basic GIS skills and no specialist training, while at the same time making it possible to manage fieldwork on an ongoing basis thanks to automatic data synchronisation. The use of mobile devices also allows inspections to be carried out in more challenging weather conditions, such as light rain, fog or poor lighting, without concerns about damaging the device or compromising data quality.
The authors emphasise that the developed methodology can easily be implemented in other regions as well. By standardising the documentation and monitoring process, it supports more efficient and sustainable management of cultural heritage, especially where resources dedicated to its protection are limited.
– Contemporary threats, such as climate change, extreme weather events, development pressure and intensive tourism, require a shift from occasional inventories towards continuous monitoring. GIS technologies enable the rapid collection, analysis and updating of spatial data, support risk assessment and facilitate the planning of preventive measures. Equally importantly, they make it possible to involve residents in the protection of cultural heritage, making the monitoring system more effective and sustainable
– concludes Marta Nalej.
Source: Quirini-Popławski Łukasz, Bogdanowska Monika, Makowska-Iskierka Marzena, Nalej Marta, Semczuk Marcin: The sustainable management of cultural heritage in tourist destinations: a mobile GIS approach, Heritage Science, Springer Science + Business Media, 2026, pp. 1–38, DOI: 10.1038/s40494-026-02638
