The active use of modern technology has affected the relationship between people and place. The “digital environment” and the “digital community” are becoming an increasingly important factor in people’s daily life, leading to a loss of belonging to a place, an entire neighbourhood, and a community. In the long run, this poses risks to the unification of values and the loss of identity. In this context, the involvement of the local community in the identification and preservation of historical heritage and defining the specific values of each site is particularly important. Thus, both the attraction of the local community to specific places and the revealed potential of local tourism are promoted. Digital placemaking enters urban regeneration as a logical approach to mixing digital and physical environments and involving the local community. Several GIS-based platforms and other tools are used to identify heritage values, both tangible and intangible. Although digital placemaking is emerging worldwide, its manifestations are closely related to specific local circumstances. The article focuses on the key characteristics and configurations of the digital placemaking tools within particular communities. The study tests digital placemaking practice in the historical districts of three cities: Taipei (Taiwan), Riga (Latvia), and Kaunas (Lithuania).

This study explores community-driven projects, participatory governance, and adaptive urban policies to enhance social resilience and sustainability in urban environments. By combining a comprehensive literature review, a questionnaire survey, and practical recommendations, it underscores the importance of socioeconomic equality, cultural heritage preservation, and inclusive growth. Through both qualitative and quantitative analyses that incorporate a broad review of scientific literature and a focused survey within Lithuania, this study identifies key strategies for strengthening urban resilience. It highlights the critical role of community engagement in urban planning and the preservation of heritage as a means to maintain local identity and foster civic participation. These elements collectively contribute to more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable urban spaces.

Traditional urban analysis and planning often neglect intangible emotional responses, leaving a gap in comprehending and addressing appropriately how urban spaces are experienced by individuals and communities. However, in contemporary urban research, emotional dimensions have increasingly been recognized as integral to understanding place and its identity, although the methods for systematically mapping these emotions and addressing both their qualitative and quantitative aspects remain under development. In order to address this research gap, this study presents an analysis of the emotional geography of Kaunas city (Lithuania) center using a mixed-method approach combining qualitative and quantitative methods to examine public narratives collected from social media posts and comments and open-ended responses from a sociological survey of local residents. A qualitative approach, grounded in the classification of emotions by Plutchik, was applied in order to categorize emotional expressions. Simultaneously, a quantitative sentiment analysis using the NLTK VADER tool was performed in order to assess the polarity of emotions and classify them into Positive, Negative, or Neutral within the collected narratives. The social media posts and comments were then georeferenced and mapped using Geographic Information Systems (GISs), while survey data were manually linked to specific locations. This allowed for the creation of emotion maps that highlight emotional hotspots and spatial sentiment trends within Kaunas city center. The results reveal how varying emotional responses are geographically connected to different areas, providing insights into both emotional responses to qualities of physical space and activities directly and indirectly linked to this space. Furthermore, the study demonstrates the potential of emotional mapping as a tool for urban planning, place-making, and sustainable development.

Participation in decision-making processes foreshadows enabling citizens, communities, non-governmental organizations and other interested parties to influence the formulation of policies and laws affecting them. The purpose of this study is not only to review Lithuanian legal documents but also to analyse recent processes in Kaunas city planning. Kaunas city is undergoing various urban processes, which do not always meet the needs of the community. This study presents an analysis of the forms of community involvement in the urban planning processes and survey data on the effectiveness of community involvement. The methodology requires using a sociological survey with representatives of the city community and a comparative analysis between legal obligations and actual urbanization process.

European countries are developing or implementing policies that promote or require the use of information modelling in the architecture, engineering, construction and manufacture sectors. The integration of Building Information Modelling (BIM) to these sectors includes social, economic, political, legal and other aspects. This is why the implementation of BIM requires an integrated and broad approach that includes not only the BIM implementation and development strategy in designing companies but also in the field of education and professional training. The article discusses the potential of integrating BIM in different study programs and the possibilities of international cooperation in interdisciplinary BIM projects. The different levels of BIM will be explored in connection to different curricula. Particular attention is paid to the compatibility and applicability of design and innovative technology solutions using BIM methodology and the development of co-operation between higher education institutions in the Nordic region [1]. The aim of this paper is to carry out a comparative analysis and present the integration model of Building Information Modeling (BIM) into the Architecture programmes in different study cycles based on the example of Nordic countries. Objectives: To provide BIM use opportunities in 3 years Bachelor level based on Engineeering architecture study programme of VIA University College; To provide BIM use opportunities in 5 years Integrated studies based on Architecture studies programme of Kaunas University of Technology; To provide BIM use opportunities in the 2 years Master of Science program in Sustainable Architecture at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology; To perform comparative analysis between different countries and different study cycles; To provide a possible model for integration of the international BIM project in different study cycles.

Much of the Curonian Spit’s architecture dates back to Soviet times, and many buildings are now in need of renovation. During the renovation process, quite flexible design guidelines apply, focusing on combining aesthetics with traditional local architecture. This raises questions as to what design aspects should be preserved after renovation. Should the distinctive stylistic elements of the original architect be saved (and if so, how?), or should the focus be on integrating cotemporary regional architecture trends? This study focuses on the Writer’s Creative House in Nida, built during the Soviet occupation, and its architect, Liucija Gedgaudiene. It explores the relationship of the building to its surroundings, its significance for the community, and seeks to identify both- the local architectural elements and the personal design traits of Liucija Gedaudiene.