Interpretaciones y usos de la belleza del abandono en la arquitectura urbana- un análisis crítico en el caso de Oporto

Abstract

By way of an essay, we propose to analyse the city of Porto through the application of a neologism related to urban architecture: the beauty of aban-donment. This concept refers to the use of aes-thetic decay as a tool to highlight public space and create an evocative urban landscape. However, the tourist attraction generated by this aesthetic poses challenges in cities such as Porto, as the valorisa-tion of abandoned infrastructures attracts tourist and commercial investments, which paradoxically leads to their rehabilitation. The phenomenon of the beauty of abandonment has different interpre-tations and uses in different cities. Some use it as a resource to enhance public space and give value to the urban context, while others see it as part of a public policy of detachment. In the case of Porto, visual collapse is part of everyday life and becomes a tourist attraction, but the city is also undergoing a process of recovering some of the beauty of abandonment. This involves the activa-tion of its economic value and real estate specu-lation. However, this process of recovery and val-orisation entails the gentrification of the city and affects both the most connected areas and Porto as a whole.