Author(s)

Rogerio Proenca Leite

Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão, Brazil.

This article provides an analysis of heritage policies in Brazil, focusing in particular on the emergence of gentrification processes, which have transformed cultural heritage into a cultural commodity, adapting historic cities to the new market logic. The private sector’s increasing involvement in heritage policy management has led to a complex alteration in the concept of heritage from a “symbolic asset” to a “cultural commodity”. This process entails recognizing forms of interaction based on consumption and presumes forms of heritage conservation based on market demands. The aim here is to discuss the impacts of these processes on the shaping of public sociabilities and ideas in relation to the use of city spaces.

Gentrification, Consumption, Urban Spaces, Cultural Heritage, Cultural Commodity

Leite, R. P. (2015) Cities and Gentrification in Contemporary Brazil. Current Urban Studies, 3, 175-186. doi: 10.4236/cus.2015.33015.