The LXI National Seminar for the Conservancy and Restoration of Monuments ICOMOS 2022 was held at UNPHU

Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña (UNPHU), and its Faculty of Architecture and Arts, were the venue of the LXI National Seminar on Conservancy and Restoration of Monuments ICOMOS 2022, Gentrification, Transformation and Development: The Destination of Historic Centers; held on November 24 and 25, 2022.

The purpose of the seminar was to analyze the transformation by change of uses that is taking place in historical centers around the world, product of gentrification, as well as the displacement of the inhabitants of an urban area by a group of inhabitants of higher income and, changes in land use due to tourism. All these have led to thinking about a reformulation of the policies and strategies of planning and development of these centers. 

The Dominican Committee of ICOMOS proposed as a destination Historic Centers, with the aim of discussing what is the impact of these processes on them and proposing viable solutions. The reality of the Historic Center of Santo Domingo was examined and the situation in other historical centers of the Caribbean area was presented, specifically San Juan de Puerto Rico, Havana, and Cartagena de Indias.

At the first session of the seminar, presentations were made on the following topics: “Land Use Regulations in the CCSD” by Martha González Pons of the Dominican Republic and “Planning, Urbanism and Heritage” by Pedro Cardona of Puerto Rico.

In the second session, the following topics were developed: “Heritage, Tourism and Gentrification: Building new models”, by the historian, Sandra Mendoza Lafaurie of Colombia and “About the Havana Plan” by the Artist. Patricia Rodríguez Alomá, from Cuba. 

They concluded stating that planning processes are slow when seeking to integrate different actors, they also made a series of recommendations and proposals to preserve these spaces.

The event was held in the Max Henríquez Ureña Hall of Building IV of UNPHU.