Abstract

It has been almost six decades since The image of the city of Kevin Lynch became a key methodology in the global academia to understand the morphology of the city. Although this concept remains within the current urban principles and also applies to the processes of design and improvement in neighbourhoods and cities, new approaches are required to include the actions of the residents and their own imaginaries. This article debates the application of the urban image from a dynamic vision, emerging from Lynch (1995) to be applied in the current socio-spatial practices of Latin American migrants in the inner city, and how their urban imaginaries are transformed into cultural assets. Located on Maruri Street, in Santiago of Chile, a multidisciplinary qualitative approach is proposed which combines the classic analysis of the urban image of Lynch (1960) with the ethnographic study in this historical area, including the migrant resident's everyday life and visualizations in the public space. The results show that these socio-spatial practices of migrants as new inner residents help to amplify the sense and use of the street, re-activating transitional spaces such as the facade and tree strips with new uses that increase both neighbourhood activity and cultural integration. It is concluded that "image and imaginary" require a closer and better relationship to be included in urban regulations and planning in terms of social integration and specific neighbourhood improvement programs.