Urban lifestyles and imaginaries in the new residents of the Lastarria/Bellas Artes neighborhood: the heritage neighborhood as a scene of diversity, distinction and mobility

Abstract

The process of transformation experienced during the last decade in the Lastarria neighborhood seems to illustrate how the new generations of residents in urban centers are creating an urban culture and urban lifestyles from new practices, representations and imaginaries about the neighborhoods and heritage. Through qualitative and quantitative techniques, we analyze the historical evolution and present context of this process to better understand the imaginaries that the new residents create in relation to the heritage neighborhood. As a result, we identified that new residents do not share a common representation about heritage and neighborhood, but rather a tension between three imaginaries: The neighborhood as an island of diversity, the neighborhood as a scene of distinction and the imaginary of neighborhood mobility. Finally, we discuss the possibilities and limitations of this lifestyle construction in heritage neighborhoods for the construction of a more diverse urban culture, considering alternatives to the restricted present integration of neighborhoods through the homogenization of consumption.