Dissecting the urban anatomy: Modernist layers, institutional landmarks, and the heritage-city synergy in Cartagena
JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM, cilt.50, sa.2, ss.154-165, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 50 Sayı: 2
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.3846/jau.2026.25744
- Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus, Materials Science & Engineering Collection (ProQuest), Technology Collection (ProQuest), Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Avery, Geobase, Index Islamicus, Art Source, Directory of Open Access Journals
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.154-165
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Özet
Cartagena, Spain, is a unique Mediterranean coastal city defined by its transition from a rigid 18th-century military stronghold to a dynamic modern center. While its ancient ruins are well-documented, the city's later layers –specifically its modernist architecture and institutional landmarks – are often overlooked in urban discourse. This neglect creates a gap between heritage preservation and the living city, risking a “museumification” that disconnects historical sites from contemporary social life. This study posits that Cartagena’s urban identity is sustained through a “Heritage-City Synergy”. It argues that the integration of modernist aesthetics, the adaptive reuse of institutional buildings, and the performance of urban rituals act as the primary engines that transform a static historical anatomy into a vibrant, functional urban environment. The research focuses on three analytical pillars: (1) the Modernist Identity emerged from the engineering reclamation of the Almarjal lagoon; (2) the Institutional Adaptive Reuse exemplified by the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT) campus within former military barracks; and (3) the Urban Rituals, such as the Carthaginians and Romans festival, that socially re-appropriate historical spaces. The spatial scope covers the historic harbor-front, the military fringe-belt, and the Ensanche district. The findings reveal that the “Heritage-City Synergy” has successfully prevented urban obsolescence. The transformation of exclusionary military edges into academic nodes has injected new socio-economic vitality into the core, while urban rituals bridge the chronological gaps between different historical eras. This synergy ensures that Cartagena’s identity remains a living, felt experience rather than a fragmented collection of relics. This study provides a framework for managing historical port cities by emphasizing functional and social continuity. The proposed “Anatomical Decoding” framework offers a scalable methodology applicable to diverse global port typologies, from Northern European industrial waterfronts to high-density Asian maritime hubs, providing a vital tool for balancing heritage-led vitality with the pressures of contemporary urban development and tourism.