Cultural Heritage and Urban Regeneration. The Conflict Between Identity and Development Strategies in the City of Valparaiso, Chile.

Master's Thesis from the year 2013 in the subject Geography / Earth Science - Demographics, Urban Management, Planning, grade: 74, University College London, language: English, abstract: This research explores the role of identity and cultural heritage in urban regeneration strategies and the conflicts caused by urban development projects that impact negatively on the local identity of the city. This study analyses from the perspective of heritage and identity, two interventions in the city of Valparaiso in Chile, which cause conflict between the state and the civic society. It establishes the importance of governance and civic society participation in the use of heritage for contemporary purposes, and discusses the problematic of the institutional and policy framework in the creation of strategies coherent with the local culture.

This research analyses the case study of the city of Valparaiso, a city facing a longterm economic decline that was declared World Heritage Site in 2003 as part of the strategies to revitalize the city and improve its economy. The development strategies that were established to improve the economic potential of Valparaiso, have found themselves in conflict with what is argued to be the identity of the city. This identity
is tightly connected to the origins of the city, but it seems difficult to engrain within development strategies.

The identity of Valparaiso as a city port is connected to its origin; Valparaiso first was a port and then was a city. It had its period of growth when it was the major stopover for ships travelling between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans during the 19th century. Then, when Panama Canal opened, ship traffic decreased causing a decline in its economy that so far has not recovery from. With the aim to counteract this chronic decline, the government initiated an arrangement to initiate a renewal plan for the city.