Enlazando tradición e innovación. El programa integral de actuación para el centro histórico de Asunción

Abstract

Over almost three decades, Asuncion’s Historic Center (CHA) has undergone a gradual loss of its residents and of its urban centrality, due to the exodus of economic activity and residential settings towards other areas of metropolitan expansion. This situation has weakened the Center’s role as urban scenery and as a foundational symbol for the nation.
Additionally, there is a lack of understanding of public spaces as common spaces; as places to come together; as social representations and centers of cultural and civic relations.
On occasion of the Bicentennial of Paraguay’s independence from Spain, the National Government and the City of Asuncion, together with a variety of private partners, began to unveil several projects and initiatives, many of them centered in the CHA. The “Ciudadela Cultural de Asunción” Program (PCCA) is promoted and coordinated by the National Secretariat of Culture (SNC). It proposes the recovery of the CHA by focusing on its dynamism as a cultural space, and connecting it to the revival of economic activities in areas such as tourism, creative economies and innovation. Through this work, culture attains strategic value: it guarantees inclusiveness in CHA’s recovery, returning to the public space its quality of civic and social venue. This approach promotes the socialization of values such as co-existence, respect, the concept of public goods, as well as diversity, creativity and innovation. The Ciudadela Program proposes innovative approaches and methodologies, grounded in the retrieval of the collective memory and in the collaboration among public institutions, civil society organizations and the private sector. The goal is to turn CHA into an urban space where tradition and creation come together to promote a better ediquality of life and stronger social cohesion.