Conflicts between Urban Development and Heritage Conservation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64736/ueplc.2025.v8.n1.6Keywords:
cultural heritage, cultural property preservation, urban development, cultural landscapes, small townsAbstract
This study addresses the conflicts between contemporary urban development and the conservation of built heritage in Riobamba (Ecuador), where real estate pressure and lack of maintenance generate tensions within the historic urban fabric. The objective was to analyze how these conflicts are expressed in three representative buildings registered in the inventory of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage: the corner house (Reg. 162), of traditional selective typology and accelerated deterioration that places it at risk of collapse; the republican house (Reg. 071), with emergency interventions that alter its authenticity and reflect social and construction-related pressures; and the eclectic mansion (Reg. 423), which preserves its physical integrity but is affected by an environment transformed by modern buildings. The research followed a qualitative methodology based on heritage technical records, field observation and a review of recent literature. The results show divergent trajectories that reveal how heritage listing, when not supported by economic incentives or appropriate use plans, may restrict demolition without enabling effective intervention processes, thereby favoring abandonment, accelerating degradation and limiting urban renewal. It is concluded that overcoming reactive conservation requires integrated management frameworks that articulate compulsory and co-financed maintenance programs, periodic inspections supported by risk matrices, anti-negligence measures, regulation of urban insertions, adaptive rehabilitation projects and community-based maintenance campaigns. The study provides empirical evidence to rethink heritage governance in intermediate Andean cities and proposes future research lines on digital technologies, life-cycle costs and citizen perception.
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