Abstract

The commercial oriented transformation of the Italia-Caupolicán neighbourhood is different from cases usually associated with the debate on gentrification in Chile. The way in which a central neighbourhood like Italia-Caupolicán is becoming an innovative consumer product is creating a tension between private economic interests and those of local people and is representative of the urban renewal in Santiago. In the study of this neighbourhood we apply existing definitions from the global north to support an analysis of the exploitation of this urban space as capital for consumerism. Through the lens of these concepts we describe how inner city heritage areas are transformed into prototypes of consumption and show local expressions of the process of commercial gentrification.