Desastres naturales, destrucción creativa y gentrificación: estudio de casos comparados en Sevilla (España), Ciudad de México (México) y Talca (Chile)

Abstract

This paper explores the role of natural disasters in the processes of devaluation, and revaluation, decline and gentrification in the city center. In this sense, we argue that natural disasters are key protagonists in urban renewal strategies, and are part of a creative destruction approach. The comparative case studies in Seville (Spain), Mexico City (Mexico) and Talca (Chile) show that natural disasters have been crucial facts in the devaluation of centrally located areas, as well as their subsequent revaluation stage. The paper concludes that the relationship between natural disasters, urban renewal and gentrification is more than a mechanical effect, rather it is a strategic field that can be oriented toward either speculative interventions and social approaches. Thus, we suggested that urban policies and natural disasters should be part of a same politic agenda, which includes all the reconstruction stages.