Memory and Identity: Citizen Perception in the Processes of Heritage Enhancement and Regeneration in Obsolete Neighborhoods—The Case of Polígono de San Pablo, Seville

Abstract

The designation of which resources are valued as emerging heritage is at a turning point. This has resulted in urban heritage regeneration processes designed from the top down, neglecting the perception of the local. This article highlights the importance of generating participatory multi-actor spaces where the knowledge of agents involved in the same process of urban regeneration, in this case linked to heritage in obsolete neighborhoods, can be incorporated and contrasted. The San Pablo neighborhood in Seville, built in the 1960s, is chosen as a case study. Actor–network theory is taken as a methodological basis for articulating a network with the voices of agents involved in heritage regeneration processes in obsolete neighborhoods. A methodology designed from the bottom up is put into practice, having as a base the social agents, followed by the academy, and finally with the technical knowledge of official institutions. This research concludes that incorporating the elderly population as social agents in regenerative actions in the San Pablo neighborhood is a determining factor in characterizing its uniqueness. Collective memory naturally associates resources that are part of the social identity of the neighborhood. Due to its deep roots, the older population recognizes different elements that could be protected and possibly recognized as emerging heritage, and that technical agents should consider them to achieve sustainable regeneration.