Depopulation of Toledo's historical centre in Spain? Challenge for local politics in world heritage cities

Abstract

The historical centre of the city of Toledo (Spain) was declared a World Heritage City by UNESCO in 1986. Since then, it has lost almost a quarter of its population in favour of the city outskirts, outside the city walls. There are a number of reasons for this population abandonment. Like many cities around the world which share the similar characteristics of being a popular tourist attraction with a historical centre, Toledo is threatened by the same problems: gentrification, loss of shops for residents in favour of tourist shops, tourist rental properties still without effective regulations, and so on. A greater proportion of the older population live in the historical centre compared to outside the city walls and the proportion of children continues to decrease. This article analyses this situation in detail, offering alternatives for its recovery. The main novelty of the manuscript is the proposal of a higher level of citizen participation than there is to achieve the objective of population recovery, with collaboration among citizen associations, residents and local authorities.