From Heritage to Culture: Evolutions in Urban Governance in Quito

In 1978, Quito became the first city (with Cracovia) to be awarded the title of “Cultural Heritage of Humanity”. The title, awarded by Unesco, for the cultural importance of the historic centre of the city, has helped to create a new understanding of urban governance, which leads us to the study of a “heritage field”. The analysis of this field, and what has been happening on different scales for the city as well as the different official definitions given to the word “heritage” since the 1980s, allows us to identify how such a definition has evolved and what innovations it has led to. Thus, the study of a number of decisions taken in recent years by the municipal government in the field of heritage, like the municipal campaign Cuéntame tu Quito (a participatory process involving the concept of heritage) and the inauguration of the Parque Urbano Qmandá (a sports and cultural complex) have grown from simply heritage policies into real cultural policies. Since the Constitution of Montecristi in 2008, which has created the “Buen Vivir State”, this change has been integrated into a national ideological framework, which allows us to see the emergence of a new relationship between the quiteño and its heritage and, beyond, between the citizen and his city.