The heritage turn of citizens’ participation at the urban periphery of Madrid (Spain): the case of Carabanchel

Abstract

Urban peripheries are scenarios in which interesting heritage processes are taking place that lend value to certain urban and cultural elements that exist there. These processes involve different social agents creating discourse; from public institutions to experts, academics, organized civil society and the local population. The content of this chapter focuses on investigating the process of shaping a new wave of citizen’s participation related to the appreciation and appropriation of urban cultural heritage, taking as a reference the case of Carabanchel, a peripheral district of the city of Madrid. The aim is to describe how and in what way the concern for cultural heritage has been spreading among the population of this urban periphery, based on a content analysis of the periodical publications of two neighborhood associations. The analysis allows us to discover the evolution of their actions and approaches related to the defense of historical heritage and the memory of the suffering of the neighborhood’s population during the Franco regime and the democratic transition in Spain. The results highlight the role of the community of residents as agents contributing to or triggering processes of the attribution of heritage value in urban peripheries.