Quito, a World Heritage City or a city to live in?

Abstract

The capital of Ecuador, as a case study, is here used to show how policies regarding urban heritage may improve urban democratic standards and practices by supporting popular participation to redefine the concept of heritage and by encouraging residents to make urban heritage spaces their own. Quito was the first city in 1978 (along with Krakow) to be awarded the title of ‘Cultural Heritage of Humanity’, for the cultural importance of its historic centre. Heritage then became an essential resource not only for local but also national and international actors, as well as a lever for a more comprehensive urban development policy. However, the gradual depopulation of the area reflects the difficulties in conducting a policy of sustainable urban planning. In this context, recent urban programmes mark a watershed as they have involved the inhabitants as actors in the heritage policies and have given rise to a redefinition of heritage—whose long-lasting impact on cultural policy needs questioning. This paper therefore examines the evolution of heritage policies in Quito, and highlights the innovative nature of a recent cultural programme, entitled ‘Tell me about your Quito’, and its impact on the definition and on the appropriation of heritage, in a specific national context, that of the ‘Citizens' Revolution’ and ‘Good Living State’ which Rafael Correa’s government has promoted since 2007. It finally concludes on the emergence of a ‘right to heritage’, as an inclusive tool that establishes the conditions for the residents to appropriate the city and consequently, for the emergence of a more inclusive urban space.

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