Del Chino a Velluters. Urbanismo neoliberal, conflicto urbano y movimientos sociales en un barrio de Valencia

This dissertation is an ethnographic study of a neighbourhood located in the historic district of Valencia (Spain), its transformation process under neoliberal urban policies and the responses deployed by different actors and social movements. The analysis focuses on the period 1992-2019 in which the neighbourhood of Velluters (El Pilar in institutional demarcation), has moved from the stigma of "barrio Chino" to the idea of an area associated with charm, cultural dynamism and heritage assets. This anthropological study analyses the impact of neoliberal urbanism in this particular territory, paying attention to how spaces, populations and narratives have been transformed in a process that is read as a failed dynamic of creative destruction and gentrification. The role of urban social movements is also analysed, focusing on neighbourhood struggles against urban decay, the conflict around securitization of urban space and resistances against touristification.