Cuando la ciudad habla: Patrimonio y participación ciudadana como agentes de cambio en las tareas de hacer ciudad

Participation can be defined as a social practice in which every individual, by taking part in public events, builds identity, a sense of ownership and belonging; qualities that are inherently linked to heritage, as it serves as the vessel of a people’s collective memory. Therefore, citizen participation and heritage share attributes that, when combined, could have a positive impact on the management of historic cities. Despite the introduction of legislative changes aimed at making participation more flexible, much remains to be done in practice. Although there are efforts to incorporate the voice of citizens into plans and programmes, it is often the case that the human factor sustaining our historic cities is neither acknowledged in regulations nor allowed to participate actively in urban transformation models. Participation constitutes a complex scenario, but it must begin to be addressed in a real, practical and effective manner, so that all social actors can work together in developing proposals that move beyond the tensions between tradition and modernity, nostalgia and oblivion, ultimately leading to vibrant, diverse, inclusive and sustainable city centres.