Urban heritage and city planning in Seville (1956-2000). A critical analysis

Abstract

The historic city, in both structural and morphological dimensions, has been settle down as a main heritage resource throughout the second half of the 20th century. However, in Spain, its legal protection through city planning tools was not effective until the beginning of this century. By means of a critical and targeted analysis of planning discourses, norms and management, this article displays the characteristics and consequences of its implementation on urban heritage during that period. The study case is Seville, a city with a complex and large historic center, which is an excellent example for extrapolating to other Spanish cities. The results evince that, in spite of an evolution progressively more respectful with the historic city, a combination of economic interests with ideological and professional approaches contributed, in a direct way, to a relevant destruction of the urban heritage of Seville.