Social Transformation and Urban Regeneration: Three Interpretations on the Phenomenon of Gentrification in the Historic Center of A Coruña (Spain)

Abstract

This chapter carries out a visual analysis of the different gentrification processes that have been developed in the historic center of A Coruna, a mid-sized city in the Spanish urban system. Thus, we can identify up to three differentiated gentrification processes based on their type of development. Although all of them have common elements, it is possible to isolate the main factors that trigger the phenomenon. Therefore, within the four neighborhoods that constitute the historic center of the city, we can distinguish, firstly, a phenomenon of commercial gentrification in a context of rent gap and reconfiguration of the “brand image” of the neighborhood. Secondly, we can observe a gentrification model linked to a historically degraded area, whose intense current touristification process is associated with a high socioeconomic status. Finally, it is possible to discern a third model of gentrification after a set of interventions by the municipal government in strategic enclaves of the neighborhood and a process of requalification of public space. Results provide a basis for confirming that, even in medium urban contexts such as our case study, it is possible to observe complex and interwoven gentrification models that interact simultaneously as expressions of global urban capital.