Consecuencias de la gentrificación en la conservación del patrimonio cultural material e inmaterial. Caso estudio: barrio El Vado

Abstract

Gentrification is a process by which a change is generated about the urban space as a result of the displacement of the original population of a generally central or neighborhood sector, being replaced by another with a higher purchasing power. The conservation of the heritage of several historic cities around the world and in Ecuador, as is the case of the city of Cuenca, especially in its Historic Center, go through this phenomenon. In this city, this process is crearly evident in the El Vado neighborhood since it has certain cultural values due to the recognition that it has achieved as a popularly historic place. Among the main consequences that emerge from this phenomenon are: the displacement of the original population of the neighborhood by commercial actors, the change from housing to commercial use, the loss of neighborhood life and its own traditions, problems of in security, among others. These, cause an alteration on the cultural heritage. This thesis exposes the various concepts of the term gentrification, studies the phenomenon in certain Latin American countries and analyzes the changes caused by the main gentrifying agents in the El Vado neighborhood, with which recommendations are generated for possible actions that involve different groups of people directly or indirectly related to the use and management of cultural heritage.