Year of publication: 2014

Publication / Magazine title: Revista EURE – Revista de Estudios Urbano Regionales, Vol. 40 (Nº 120)

Type of publication: Article

Article author/s: Pablo M. Millán Millán; Luz Fernández Valderrama

Publication author/s: –

Editorial: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Language/s: Spanish

ISSN: 0250-7161

We could state that historical centers are the most complex and fragile urban spaces in our cities, given that they account for symbolic and social values while, at the same time, are increasingly degraded. The growth of the cities and the abandonment of rural villages affected the old centers of our cities, turning them into their most populated areas. This high population rate demanded developmental and hygiene policies that were materialized in interventions that opened historical centers, substituted older constructions by high-rise buildings, and increased land value.

These processes, plus the afore-mentioned high price of the historical centers, have transformed them into an interesting market product. These facts, together with tourist development agents, have accelerated a phenomenon of urban transformation worth considering.