Universal value and local values

what place is given to populations? The example of the city of Arequipa, Peru

Abstract

Urban sites inscribed on the World Heritage List harbor particularly important social issues. Place of life and diverse activities, they are the privileged domain of multiple tensions, where the inhabitants, at best, have not been integrated into the registration process and, at worst, have been victims of changes in their way of life, being forced to leave their place of residence. In this context, the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape, a document adopted by the UNESCO General Conference in 2011, made it more necessary than ever to understand the true contribution of resident communities in preparing applications for the VUE and in its subsequent management. This article then proposes to present two cases that illustrate this phenomenon, both located in the historic center of Arequipa (Peru). Evidencing two different approaches to the patrimonial value of restored elements, this text seeks to understand why certain projects seem to favor local reappropriation and the production of identity while others cause strong local rejection and identity destruction.