Living Heritage and Local Sustainability: A Mixed-Methods Assessment of Cultural Development in a Mediterranean Medium-Sized City

This study investigates the role of cultural development as a driver of sustainable ur-ban development in Kalamata, a medium-sized city in southern Greece (population ~70,000). Drawing on the UNESCO CDIS framework, SDG 11, the Faro Convention (2005), and the Historic Urban Landscape Recommendation (UNESCO 2011), the re-search employs an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design integrating a strati-fied resident survey (n = 517), 49 stakeholder interviews, and systematic cultural car-tography (Cultural Map v7, 2026). Quantitative findings reveal moderate cultural sat-isfaction (M = 3.21/5) with significant geographic disparities (Centre M = 3.1 vs. East-ern zones M = 2.2, p < 0.001). Regression analysis identifies cultural infrastructure sat-isfaction (β = 0.41), digital cultural information access (β = 0.306), voluntary participa-tion (β = 0.19), and residential zone (β = 0.168) as independent predictors (R² = 0.58). A strong culture–urban development satisfaction correlation (Spearman ρ = 0.62, p < 0.001) empirically validates the culture-sustainability nexus. The qualitative strand documents Institutional Resilience through Cultural Civil Society (IRCC): a co-evolutionary dynamic between austerity-era institutional contraction (2010–2018) and compensatory voluntary cultural expansion. CDIS triangulation reveals systemic weaknesses in cultural governance and spatial equity alongside strengths in education and civil-society participation. Archival data (GSA-Messenia, 2008) trace spatial ine-qualities to post-1922 refugee settlement geography. Seven evidence-based policy recommendations are proposed. The study advances replicable mixed-methods model for medium-sized Mediterranean cities.