The rehabilitation, a fundamental measure for the recovery of the historical center of Guadalajara

Abstract

As in many other Spanish cities, in Guadalajara there is an almost exact correspondence between what was the city until the middle of the 20th century and its current Historical Center. The city presents a great vitality although its center has been losing its functions, which has determined its progressive deterioration. Its still rich architectural heritage and its interesting urban plot continue to confer identity traits that differentiate it from other areas or cities, signs that must be preserved. At present there is a greater concern for the protection of the architectural heritage, but nevertheless, despite the actions that are being carried out, it continues to deteriorate. The same can be said about its urban fabric, in which certain actions, paradoxically undertaken to revitalize it, have modified it significantly. The recovery of the Historical Center must necessarily go through the recovery of its functions, especially that of centrality and residence. As a result of the deterioration produced, the center has been abandoned, which has made its main activities are the tertiary, although with low economic activity, and that their current population is of advanced age and sometimes marginal. On the other hand, the city facilities, those that have been occupying the main buildings of the center, are increasingly being moved to other neighborhoods. It is necessary to reverse this trend, avoiding that it continues to depopulate, attract new inhabitants and also recover its administrative, cultural and leisure centrality. For this, it is necessary to carry out a rehabilitation of the hull proposed as an integral operation in it, in which not only its most notable buildings are recovered, but also its traditional buildings and its urban layout.