Abstract

The past three decades have seen the emergence of various conflicts against neoliberal urbanization processes, including disputes associated with the protection of heritage. The growing literature in this area has pointed out the disclosure of a form of democratic participation developed by the communities in defense of their neighborhood, which opposes the commercial logic that guides the evolution of our cities. In this article, we will discuss this argument through the analysis of the patrimonialization process of Victoria neighborhood in Santiago of Chile, a historical urban zone that articulates a residential identity with a commercial one, linked to leather crafting and footwear. Through an empirical analysis based on life story interviews with former residents and tenants, we will show that, behind neighborhood defense discourses, there are different expectations regarding how the city should be, namely, who could inhabit it and how they should do it. In some cases, these expectations entail the exclusion of actors from the definition of community and, in others, contribute to amplify the conflict. In this way, we intend to contribute to the literature that evaluates the democratic potential of conflicts linked to the defense of heritage.