Barrios altos: characterizing of a set of traditional neighborhoods within lima s historic center

Since 1991 a significant part of the Historic Center of Lima (HCL) has been included within the inscribed list of Cultural Heritage of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) area. Barrios Altos is a traditional urban sector, which is part of HCL and outstanding due to the remarkable richness of its cultural, tangible and intangible heritage but also for being a poor and marginalized sector with declining living conditions. With research and information gathered in France, Spain and Peru, this article aims to explain the historical situation of Barrios Altos, the patrimonialization process -national and humanity context- and preliminary findings on recovery of the HCL through awareness campaigns and municipal interventions at public spaces of this sector, among which stand two emblematic cases: the Central Market and Chinatown.