Recent Socio-Spatial Transformations in the San Pedro Neighbourhood (Santiago de Compostela)

Abstract

Santiago de Compostela has undergone many important transformations in recent decades, mainly due to the increase in tourist activity. In fact, the revival of modern Compostela pilgrimages has had an impact on the local economy and on the urban space. For some years, these changes have been spreading from the old walled enclosure to the different neighbourhoods of the city. Among them, the Barrio de San Pedro stands out, through which the French, Northern and Primitive Ways access the city. Formerly a former working-class neighbourhood of Compostela, this part of town retains a traditional identity that has favoured the appearance of incipient gentrification processes and is affected by the growing touristification of the city, which is leading to the proliferation of tourist flats and new commercial activities. For all these reasons, the main objective of this work is to recognise and analyse the recent functional and landscape transformations of the neighbourhood. To carry out this research we have used a methodology that combines several phases of analysis in order to obtain, from different perspectives, approaches to complex problems such as the one we are analysing, in particular: a review of planning documents and participant observation. The results point to a transformation that implies a renovation of businesses to adapt to new audiences, and in parallel the closure of a significant number of stores due to lack of generational replacement or the effects of the crises of 2008 and later of the COVID-19 pandemic.