IMAGINARIES AND URBAN ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE: PERCEPTIONS AND SOLUTIONS TO CONFLICTS IN THE HISTORIC CENTER OF THE CITY OF GUANAJUATO, GTO.

This research sought to interpret the imaginaries, or rather, the representations of the state of protection of the urban architectural heritage of the historic center, based on the recent approaches of international organizations on heritage conservation, specifically the Zacatecas Charter. It was carried out through the novel methodology of urban imaginaries, which tries to deal -with imagination- with how the world works and how it could come to work. The findings are both convergent and divergent. It was found that perceptions depend on acquired knowledge and experience in the city. Based on these international approaches and the perceptions of our research participants, we conclude that this conflict area is “in danger of becoming a monument zone without society”. For the strategist who manages the city and the historic center, these perceptions of the community are valuable inputs, which look at a given problem from many angles. Seeking to contribute to the benefit of society, this book, among other things, presents the perceptions of the community regarding the public space - the imaginary of the place - as well as the main needs, desires and proposals that have been imagined that could eventually resolve a specific conflict.