Intervención comunitaria en barrios populares: tensiones entre actores sociales

Abstract

This article presents the results of a study carried out in Delicias district (Zaragoza) regarding the recent evolution of the discourse within the transformation of traditional working-class neighborhoods in ‘poor’, ‘degraded’ or ‘vulnerable’ neighborhoods and, with it, the increasing consideration of its populations as ‘objects of intervention’. The research combines elements of qualitative approach, such as reports and plans relating to the community processes of recent decades, semi-structured interviews to practitioners and participant observation in the actions of the current community process. The field of this research involves the recent history of the neighborhood, its processes of ‘community intervention’ and the relationship between public and private actors. Regarding its object, the argument between these actors on the social situations in the district will allow us to link the economic plans and social policies with each actor’s speech and ideological approach. Finally, we will propose some conclusions that might be applied to other multicultural neighborhoods in the current context of neo-liberal urbanism.