Analysis of Touristification Processes in Historic Town Centers: The City of Seville

Abstract

Encouraged by the administration, the gen9otrification process has been useful in economic terms for the reactivation of the socio-cultural fabrics of historic urban spaces in decline. What was initially considered an advantage has led to the touristification of historic centers, and in turn to the alteration of their original use. In these settings, the demographic void caused by increasingly shunning local identity has combined with pressure from excessive tourism and the obsolescence of heritage protection bodies in charge of conservation. Given the crisis affecting the definitions of the current system, this study aims to review the environmental agents of heritage value in relation to the processes of touristification and gentrification. Data obtained from different methodologies are analyzed using a multidisciplinary database, a model which enables the analysis of the relevant information from the different interacting fields. This case study focuses on the historic town center of Seville, specifically between 2015 and 2020. Elements are defined as indicators for these processes and the analysis of this case study will comprise the main results of this research.

Keywords

• gentrification
• touristification
• tourism in historic cities
• heritage protection
• Seville