Typologies of liquid living in Valparaíso. Outline for a current documentary study and record

Abstract

This article addresses the transformations of ways of dwelling in Valparaíso over time, from the perspective of liquid modernity proposed by Zygmunt Bauman, understanding the port city as a territory historically shaped by dynamics of mobility, itinerancy, and transience. For this reason, the article presents a historical review of collective residential typologies that form part of Valparaíso’s modest heritage. It analyzes how contemporary forms of dwelling engage with historical processes that are intrinsic to the city’s identity.

However, this article argues that these transformations cannot be understood solely as opportunities for urban revitalization, but must also be situated within the dynamics of touristification, real estate speculation, and gentrification that threaten the permanence of the residential and social fabric of neighborhood life in Valparaíso.

Despite the city’s historical condition of liquidity and transience, a significant abandonment can be observed in heritage areas and buildings that once constituted the core of Valparaíso’s development.

In this context, the analysis proposes a reflection on how modest heritage can be adapted to new contemporary forms of dwelling without reducing the city and its historic neighborhoods to spaces of tourist consumption. Heritage is therefore understood as more than an architectural object in itself, but also as a support for everyday life and collective memory.

Through a historical analysis, the article identifies collective residential typologies from the 19th century to the present 21st century, comparing them with current collective housing typologies and examining the new needs of contemporary inhabitants.