Fernando Gutiérrez publishes article on urban regeneration

Fernando Gutiérrez (PhD student at UCL Institute of the Americas) together with Ilkka Törmä (independent researcher and tutor at Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland) recently published the paper 'Urban revitalisation with music and dance in the Port of Veracruz, Mexico' in the journal Urban Design International. 

The paper portrays the Plazuela de la Campana, a historical small square in the Port of Veracruz, Mexico that fell into ill-use and was revived with a strategy of music and dance events. The case demonstrates how music and dance became a new tradition that nurtures a collective attachment to the Plazuela and contributes to it being regarded as heritage. The privately initiated revitalisation borrows potency from prior nostalgic memories and traditions to overpower the past notoriety of the square. Dance and music, besides creating pleasant associations, effectively build a network of friendships that engages people in the square and through which the history of the place becomes remembered. All these effects deepen the meaningfulness of the Plazuela, which fosters personal affection towards the square and ultimately, it is proposed, translates into a general appreciation—a lesson to be learned for emerging urban planning practices.

Fernando's article is available on open access for a limited time. Please click on the link to the journal's website or on this other link to download it as a pdf. document.

Links:

Link to the UCL Americas Research Students webpage

Urban Design International Journal website

Link to download article as a pdf. document

Images:

Plazuela de la Campana - daytime and evening music and dance events - courtesy of F Gutiérrez and I Törmä