Home Institution
Georgetown University
Publication Date
Fall 2017
Abstract
In the years following UNESCO’s conferral of the World Heritage title to the historic zone of Valparaíso, the residential neighborhoods of Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepción underwent a drastic process of gentrification. Private investors hoping to profit from increased tourism flows pumped capital into the sector in the form of restaurants, cafes, and hotels. As result, residents were gradually expelled due to higher rent prices and an overall increase in cost of living.
The consequences of developing the city’s tourism infrastructure in these neighborhoods were not limited to gentrification; as the residential life of these neighborhoods was uprooted, so was their intangible cultural heritage. While the facades of buildings were manicured and architectural features preserved, the unique identity of the cerros departed. In the place of regional character crafted from centuries of immigrants settling in the area, a homogenous consumerism took hold. However, in comparison, the sector of Barrio Puerto, which also belongs to the historic zone, has yet to be deeply affected by Valparaíso’s burgeoning tourism industry. My investigation is an attempt to understand why.
The following document contains a journalistic exploration and academic analysis of the themes of gentrification and cultural heritage in context of the historic Barrio Puerto neighborhood of Valparaíso. By synthesizing scholarly sources and conducting interviews with experts and residents of the neighborhood, I have considered how these phenomenons interact in theory, as well as how they are manifested in the neighborhood today. In the appended news feature, realities of gentrification in Barrio Puerto are examined, and possible futures for the neighborhood and its heritage are considered.
Disciplines
Community-Based Research | Family, Life Course, and Society | Inequality and Stratification | Latin American Studies | Tourism | Urban Studies and Planning | Work, Economy and Organizations
Recommended Citation
Paglia, Anne, "El futuro indefinido del Barrio Puerto de Valparaíso: Explorando el nexo complicado entre la preservación del patrimonio y la gentrificación en el Barrio Puerto de Valparaíso / The indefinite future of the Puerto de Valparaíso neighborhood: Exploring the complicated nexus between heritage preservation and gentrification in the Puerto de Valparaíso neighborhood" (2017). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2721.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2721
Included in
Community-Based Research Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Latin American Studies Commons, Tourism Commons, Urban Studies and Planning Commons, Work, Economy and Organizations Commons
Program Name
Chile: Cultural Identity, Social Justice, and Community Development