Latina
Revista Latina de Comunicación Social. ISSN 1138-5820
Esta obra está bajo una licencia internacional Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 4.0
Daniel Navas Carrillo
University of Malaga, Spain.
Heechang Chae
University of Malaga, Spain.
This article is part of the project “(re)SOHO: Innovative Perspectives on Urban Heritage. Toward the Re-Heritagization of Social Housing Neighborhoods,” funded by the University of Malaga through its Internal Plan for Research, Transfer, and Scientific Dissemination (B1-2023-019).
How to Cite This Article / Standard Reference
Navas Carrillo, Daniel, & Chae, Heechang (2026). Resignificar la periferia urbana: la ficción televisiva como herramienta de patrimonialización [Redefining the Urban Periphery: Television Fiction as a Tool for Heritage Preservation]. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 84, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2026-2692
Date of Receipt: January 19, 2026
Date of Acceptance: March 09, 2026
Date of Publication: July 27, 2026
Introduction: The representation of social housing neighborhoods in Spanish television fiction has evolved from approaches centered on marginality towards more complex narratives that explore the social, cultural, and emotional dynamics of contemporary urban life. Methodology: This study analyses the television series Wrong Side of the Tracks, broadcast by Telecinco between 2022 and 2024, from a heritage perspective, through an interdisciplinary literature review grounded in cultural studies and urban sociology, combined with a qualitative narrative and discursive analysis of the series as a case study, using categories such as collective memory, the representation of urban space, and processes of territorial stigmatization. Results: The analysis reveals that the series constructs an ambivalent narrative that, while depicting structural problems such as precarity and exclusion, simultaneously presents the neighborhood as living heritage through the valorization of community ties and everyday forms of resistance. Discussion: These findings support an understanding of television fiction as a cultural device of symbolic re-signification that expands the notion of heritage beyond architectural monumentality. Conclusions: Contemporary fiction can function as an instrument of heritage communication, contributing to the integration of urban margins into the collective imagination and reaffirming their human and cultural value.
Keywords: collective identity; audiovisual narratives; urban heritage; heritage valorization; urban vulnerability.
The representation of working-class neighborhoods on the outskirts of cities in Spanish television fiction has undergone a significant evolution, reflecting transformations in the social perception of the urban periphery. During the 1980s and 1990s, these areas appeared on screen associated with narratives of crime, drug addiction, and marginalization, reinforcing stereotypes that strengthened the association between periphery and exclusion. This approach, in line with what Loïc Wacquant calls “territorial stigmatization,” contributed to establishing a homogeneous and negative view of working-class neighborhoods in the collective imagination, rendering their internal dynamics and social diversity invisible (Wacquant, 2008).
From the 2000s onward, television fiction began to incorporate more complex perspectives, in line with social processes such as the arrival of migrant populations, urban regeneration, and the growing visibility of the peripheries in cultural discourses. This discursive shift is part of a global trend that seeks to overcome the stigmatizing view of the periphery (Ruiz Chasco, 2019), recognizing its value as a space of memory, identity, and resistance against urban homogenization (García-Hernández, 2020). From the perspective of cultural studies, authors such as Martín-Barbero (1987) and Sarlo (1994) have emphasized the role of the media in the construction of social imaginaries, while recent research on television fiction highlights the capacity of series to articulate discourses about the city and its peripheries (Cappello, 2023; González-Campos, 2021).
In this context, the series Wrong Side of the Tracks, broadcast by Telecinco between 2022 and 2024, is proposed as a relevant case study for analyzing the contemporary representation of peripheral neighborhoods. Set in a Madrid neighborhood characterized by cultural diversity and socioeconomic vulnerability, the plot revolves around generational tensions, conflicts stemming from precariousness, and dynamics of intercultural coexistence, positioning the urban space as the central axis of the relationships between the characters. Based on this contextualization, the main results of the analysis are presented below, structured around the representation of peripheral urban space and the processes of symbolic heritagization identified in the series.
Fiction allows for the examination of whether the narrative articulates a discourse that oscillates between social denunciation and potential heritage reclamation. On the one hand, it could highlight structural problems such as precarious housing, insecurity, and lack of opportunities; on the other, it would be worthwhile to explore whether it values the community fabric, intergenerational relationships, and collective memory that shape the neighborhood as a space imbued with affective and historical meanings. This heritage dimension connects with Choay's (2007) ideas on the "allegory of heritage" and with studies that analyze how audiovisual fiction can reorient the perception of urban heritage (González-Campos, 2021).
The study is based on the hypothesis that contemporary television fiction can function as a cultural device capable of contributing to processes of symbolic reinterpretation and the recognition of traditionally stigmatized territories as heritage. It proposes an analysis of the television series Wrong Side of the Tracks from the perspective of urban heritage, understanding television fiction as a cultural device that contributes to reinterpreting territories traditionally excluded from official narratives. The analysis examines how the series constructs an image of the neighborhood that challenges dominant stereotypes, what narrative strategies it employs to articulate this representation, and what the implications of this reinterpretation are for the social perception of the periphery. Ultimately, the aim is to explore how contemporary fiction can become a tool for the symbolic recovery of urban spaces that, far from being mere scenes of conflict, constitute spheres of life, memory, and resistance.
This paper proposes an analytical reading of the Wrong Side of the Tracks series through a qualitative and interpretive approach focused on urban heritage. The research is structured around an interdisciplinary literature review, drawing on contributions from cultural studies and urban sociology. This review allows for the delimitation of the theoretical framework and the clarification of the operational concepts of the analysis, such as the representation of urban space, collective memory, community identity, territorial stigmatization, and heritage reinterpretation. With this conceptual framework, the series is approached as a case study, considering its narrative and discursive dimensions and the specific role of the audiovisual medium in constructing meaning about the neighborhood.
Drawing on the theoretical framework, the analysis focuses on identifying discursive patterns within the narrative construction, dialogue, and symbolic shaping of the neighborhood throughout the plot. It aims to identify the core ideas structuring the representation of urban space, as well as the activation of collective memories and the formation of community identities in tension with processes of territorial stigmatization. Based on this, the study examines how the fiction contributes to the re-signification of the neighborhood’s heritage, considering the mechanisms by which the series assigns value, generates meaning, and challenges socially circulating images of the territory.
This methodological scope is strictly limited to the audiovisual representation in the series with respect to the previously established operational concepts, avoiding extrapolations to social realities beyond their fictional representation, although it engages with other works of a similar nature in their theoretical conceptualization. In this sense, the study prioritizes interpretive coherence between the theoretical framework and the series' visual narrative, without relying on an exhaustive and structured description of its story. In this regard, the inherent limitations of this approach must be acknowledged, as it does not pursue a quantitative and exhaustive analysis of the series, but rather a qualitative approach through a critical reading of the stereotypes typically associated with the urban periphery and the series' representational nature in relation to the fictional reinterpretation of the neighborhood's heritage.
The concept of urban heritage has undergone a profound transformation in recent decades. For much of the 20th century, the notion of heritage was linked almost exclusively to architectural monuments and spaces recognized for their historical, artistic, or aesthetic value. This classical view, inherited from the Enlightenment tradition and the early conservation movements, privileged materiality and exceptionality, leaving out everyday environments and the social practices that shape urban life (Choay, 2007). Within this framework, working-class neighborhoods and social housing were relegated to the category of “non-places” in terms of heritage, invisible to cultural and urban planning policies. However, their value is now beginning to be recognized, and various instruments for their conservation are being developed (Navas-Carrillo et al., 2024).
However, the paradigm shift driven by international organizations and academic critique has broadened the concept of heritage to encompass the everyday and the communal, focusing on the individual rather than the heritage object (Castillo Ruiz, 2004). The Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (UNESCO, 2011) proposes integrating social, economic, and cultural dynamics into heritage management, recognizing that the city is a living organism in constant transformation. This approach posits that conservation cannot be limited to the physical preservation of emblematic buildings but must incorporate social practices, collective memories, and the affective bonds that shape urban identity (Ortega Esquivel, 2021).
In this sense, social housing neighborhoods constitute living heritage spaces. Although traditionally excluded from official discourses, due to their association with the everyday (Moya et al., 2017) and the generic aspects (Oyón Bañales, 1998), they foster forms of sociability, support networks, and traditions that, while not included in traditional heritage canons (Pérez-Cano et al., 2022), are essential for understanding urban history and the construction of local identities (Mejía-Morales, 2024). The notion of intangible heritage, adopted by UNESCO (2004), further allows for the recognition of the importance of these experiences and relationships as part of the urban cultural legacy. This heritage is not expressed in monumentality, but in everyday life, as well as in spontaneous forms of social organization, mutual support networks and collective practices that have contributed to the construction of new community identities (Vázquez-Morejón et al., 2024).
The heritagization of the everyday aspects involves a symbolic reinterpretation, transforming stigmatized spaces into cultural landmarks through narratives that highlight their historical and social value. This process is not neutral, as it faces tensions between community memory and market dynamics, such as gentrification, which can disrupt the very communities it seeks to preserve (Rojas, 2016). Therefore, reflecting on urban heritage requires a critical perspective that considers not only the material dimension but also the power relations that permeate the city and determine what is preserved and what is forgotten.
Contemporary urban heritage is thus conceived as a space of negotiation between memory, identity, and transformation. Recognizing the heritage value of social housing neighborhoods means questioning the cultural hierarchies that have historically defined what deserves to be protected and what does not. Furthermore, it opens the possibility of thinking about the city as a pluralistic network, where social and cultural diversity becomes a resource for sustainability and urban cohesion.
Audiovisual narratives have become one of the main cultural tools for constructing urban imaginaries in contemporary society. It is important to recognize that space in audiovisual narratives is not neutral (Sánchez Andrada, 2009), as it acts as a structuring element that conditions the viewer's perception. From traditional television to digital platforms, audiovisual productions not only serve an entertainment function but also generate discourses that influence the social perception of territories, contributing to defining which spaces are considered safe, desirable, or marginal (Martínez Puche & Castro, 2022). This symbolic power makes audiovisual fiction a key player in the production of meaning about the city and its margins, as demonstrated by recent works such as that of Mendieta Rodríguez and Deltell Escolar (2023).
From the perspective of audiovisual narrative theory, urban space in fiction functions as a semiotic device that organizes action and projects symbolic values (Sabina Gutiérrez, 2018; Sánchez Andrada, 2009). When urban space becomes a narrative setting, it acquires a symbolic dimension that transcends its materiality. As Di Sarli (2020) points out, the city in fiction is not merely a backdrop, but an active element that shapes plots and characters, functioning as a “collective character” that expresses social and cultural tensions.
The city in fiction must be analyzed as a geographical text, capable of producing meanings that transcend the plot and engage with broader social concepts (Aertsen et al., 2018). This idea is reinforced in studies on film and television that show how the choice of a neighborhood, a street or a housing complex is not accidental, but responds to discursive strategies that seek to transmit values, conflicts and emotions associated with those places.
Historically, the audiovisual representation of peripheral neighborhoods has been marked by social vulnerability, associating them with crime, drug addiction, and marginalization, as reflected, for example, in the work of Carlos Saura (Albaladejo Ortega, 2023; Bloch-Robin, 2023) and Ladislao Vajda (Díaz & de la Fuente, 2015; Valle Corpas, 2023) about the city of Madrid. Very present in the quinqui cinema of the 1980s (Aertsen, 2023), this perspective contributed to establishing a homogeneous and negative image of the urban periphery in the collective imagination (Lindón, 2020). However, in recent years there has been a shift towards more complex narratives that explore everyday life, community support networks, and cultural diversity. Articulated from visual anthropology, a line of research has emerged that focuses precisely on valuing the visual aspects present in everyday practices (Ardèvol & Muntañola, 2004). This shift responds both to social transformations—such as the arrival of migrant populations and urban regeneration processes—and to the evolution of audiovisual language, which seeks to connect with more diverse and critical audiences (Martins, 2016).
Contemporary television series, especially those distributed on digital platforms, have broadened the reach of these representations, allowing narratives about the periphery to circulate globally. This presents a double challenge: on the one hand, the possibility of making local realities visible and redefining stigmatized territories; on the other, the risk of reproducing clichés under the logic of the market and the spectacularization of conflict. In this context, fiction becomes a space of symbolic negotiation, where meanings about the city and its inhabitants are contested (Vera et al., 2019).
In this sense, audiovisual narratives are not mere reflections of urban reality, but rather discursive tools that participate in the construction of collective identities and in the struggle over the meaning of the city. Through them, urban margins can be represented as spaces of exclusion or as territories of resistance and creativity, influencing how society perceives them and the policies designed for them.
Urban sociology and cultural studies offer essential theoretical frameworks for understanding how social processes are inscribed in space and how space shapes the dynamics of exclusion, belonging, and transformation. From its origins, urban sociology has analyzed the city as a space of social interaction, where power relations, inequalities, and forms of resistance are configured. Authors such as Lamy (2020) and Hiernaux and Lindón (2004) emphasize that the city is not only a physical setting but also a symbolic network that organizes practices, concepts, and meanings.
One of the most influential concepts in this field is that of “territorial stigmatization,” developed by Loïc Wacquant (2007), which describes the process by which certain neighborhoods are symbolically marked as spaces of marginalization. This stigmatization is not limited to social perception, as it can have concrete effects on daily life, ranging from institutional discrimination to the self-image of residents. Peripheral neighborhoods, especially those linked to social housing, are frequently subject to this phenomenon, which reinforces dynamics of segregation and limits opportunities for social mobility.
In contrast to this perspective, cultural studies propose understanding the city as a space of symbolic negotiation, where meanings are contested and collective identities are constructed. Sarlo (1994) and Vera et al. (2019) argue that cultural representations—including audiovisual narratives—are not mere reflections of reality, but rather discursive practices that participate in the production of meaning. In this regard, Lucero Zúñiga (2020) emphasizes that the valorization of urban heritage can become a double-edged sword, since, while it makes the history of a particular place visible, it can also trigger processes of exclusion and gentrification resulting from the area's increased value. Within this framework, television and film fiction become a symbolic laboratory where tensions between exclusion and belonging, degradation and resilience, stigma and community pride are explored.
Contemporary urban sociology has also incorporated critical perspectives that analyze the relationship between space and power. Lindón (2020) points out that the periphery should not be understood solely as a physical boundary, but as an unstable fragment of the lived city, traversed by processes of mobility, cultural hybridization, and resistance. These dynamics are reflected in the daily practices of its inhabitants, who construct strategies to confront precarity and assert their identity in the face of hegemonic discourses that render them invisible or stigmatize them in the collective imagination (Oyón Bañales et al., 2020).
In many cases, the lack of basic services and adequate infrastructure since their inception has been the root of inequality and the stigmatization of these neighborhoods (Berruguete, 2024). However, it has also fueled social struggles that strengthened social cohesion and fostered a deep sense of belonging, consolidating bonds of solidarity and resistance (Fanjul, 2024). These initiatives not only improved material living conditions but also contributed to building an active and engaged citizenry (Donadei, 2021). These neighborhood demands and struggles have also been the subject of prominent audiovisual media (Blázquez, 2023).
For their part, cultural studies emphasize the symbolic dimension of these practices, showing how literary, audiovisual, and media-driven narratives contribute to redefining territories. The representation of peripheral neighborhoods in fiction, for example, can operate as a counter-representation mechanism, challenging dominant stereotypes and offering new narratives that highlight diversity and community resilience. This process is not merely aesthetic: it has political implications, as it influences how society perceives the periphery and the policies designed for it.
The connection between urban sociology and cultural studies allows us to understand the city as a complex space where the material and the symbolic intertwine. Analyzing the cultural representations of peripheral neighborhoods not only reveals how urban imaginaries are constructed, but also how these concepts influence social life and the configuration of the contemporary city.
The neighborhood's representation in the series is configured as a narrative space laden with meaning, where historical, social, and cultural forces converge to shape the plot. This setting is not merely a backdrop, but an active element that influences the relationships between characters and structures the social, moral, and emotional conflicts of the neighborhood. The neighborhood thus becomes a symbolic construct that organizes the plot and embodies values associated with marginalization, social tension, and conflictive coexistence. The depicted urban environment acts as a spatial metaphor for the emotional and moral state of its inhabitants. In this sense, the diegetic space not only contextualizes the actions of its protagonists but also shapes their identities, influences their decisions, and amplifies the ethical dilemmas that permeate the series.
One of the central themes is the evocation of the industrial past and working-class memory, which appears in the dialogues and attitudes of the older characters. This narrative device connects with the idea that working-class neighborhoods are repositories of an identity linked to work and solidarity, values that stand in contrast to contemporary precarity. Working-class memory, as Silva Hidalgo and Barría Catalán (2022) point out, is not limited to individual narratives, but rather constitutes a collective symbolic capital that reinforces social cohesion. In the series, this memory materializes in characters who reclaim a time when the neighborhood was an economic engine and a space of stability, introducing a tension between nostalgia and urban transformation.
The neighborhood is also portrayed as a space of cultural diversity, marked by the arrival of migrant populations and certain stereotypes (Elías-Zambrano et al., 2023). Young characters embody the difficulties of integration in an environment marked by distrust and competition for scarce resources. However, the narrative does not limit itself to showing conflict, but also highlights alliances and solidarities that emerge in daily life, challenging stereotypes about immigration (Marcos Ramos et al., 2020). This approach engages with studies on media representation of the “other” in Spanish fiction, which have demonstrated the persistence of clichés surrounding marginalization and cultural difference (Lacalle, 2003; Romero-Rodríguez et al., 2018). In contrast, the series introduces nuances that allow for the exploration of processes of cultural hybridization and identity negotiation.
As a backdrop, the narrative incorporates the threat of gentrification and real estate speculation, processes that jeopardize local identity. This tension reflects real dynamics in many European cities, where working-class neighborhoods are subject to economic revaluation that displaces their original inhabitants. As has been noted, urban heritage processes can trigger social exclusion, precisely as a consequence of their increased value. However, in recent years there has been a shift towards more complex narratives that explore everyday life (Ramírez, 2019). In fiction, this problem translates into a feeling of vulnerability to external forces that strip the neighborhood of its uniqueness, reinforcing the idea that urban identity is a field of dispute.
Beyond the social conflicts, in the series, Wrong Side of the Tracks is constructed as an active narrative space that organizes the action, gives meaning to the relationships between characters, and shapes the viewer's perception. In this case, the visual aesthetic—narrow streets, dilapidated buildings, and squares as meeting points—reinforces the idea of a territory in tension, where precariousness coexists with human and cultural richness. Following Manuel et al. (2022), analyzed from a geographical perspective, the neighborhood in the fiction is capable of producing meanings that transcend the plot and engage with broader social concepts.
At this intersection of forces—working-class memory, cultural diversity, and urban transformation—the neighborhood becomes a symbolic laboratory where everyday conflicts, resistance, and solidarity are made visible. The narrative does not merely depict physical degradation but emphasizes the human richness that emerges in community life. Thus, the narrative space operates as a critical device that challenges the viewer and invites them to reflect on the tensions that permeate the contemporary city.
Audiovisual fiction can act as an agent of symbolic heritage preservation, granting cultural value to historically invisible spaces and practices. This process stems from the idea that heritage is not a fixed category, but a dynamic construct that is redefined through social and media discourses (Hernández, 2021). Within this framework, fictional representations of working-class neighborhoods contribute to legitimizing memories, identities, and forms of resistance that constitute intangible urban heritage (Zanetti, 2009).
In this sense, one of the pillars of heritage preservation is collective memory. Wrong Side of the Tracks recovers stories from generations who have lived in the neighborhood, giving dignity to their experiences and recognizing their role in building the city. Spaces like the protagonist's hardware store function as nodes of intergenerational transmission, where memories and community values converge. According to Jofré Astudillo (2022), artistic narrative can become a political tool for questioning the identity and ethical foundations of communities, integrating memory into processes of cultural reinterpretation.
The series also highlights community identity, showing how a sense of belonging is built through daily life, transcending material deprivation (Navas-Carrillo, 2019). Neighborhood meetings and alliances between characters reflect a shared identity sustained by solidarity and cooperation. This approach connects with the notion of systemic heritage, which understands territory as a network of social relations and symbols that legitimize a community's cultural connection to its space (Herrera Valencia, 2023).
In contrast to narratives that portray working-class neighborhoods as obsolete, fiction reclaims their enduring relevance as territories of life and culture. This resistance is expressed in plots that depict the struggle against violence and corruption, defending the persistence of ways of living considered part of the cultural heritage (Martínez-de la Rosa, 2015). Thus, cultural resistance is not merely a narrative strategy: it is a political act that challenges the logics of exclusion and commodification of urban space.
Finally, fiction acts as a communicative device, amplifying the heritage value of neighborhoods and generating empathy in the viewer. This effect is enhanced in the digital age, where narratives circulate on multiple platforms, fostering the symbolic appropriation of the spaces represented (Piñeiro-Naval & Frutos-Esteban, 2023). In this way, heritage communication finds in fiction an ally to promote diversity and reinforce the idea that urban heritage includes everyday practices and relationships, not just monuments.
Contemporary audiovisual fiction has become a key instrument for the reinterpretation of the heritage of marginalized urban spaces. This process transforms the social perception of working-class neighborhoods, granting them a cultural value centered on the affective and the communal. From the perspective of heritage communication, fiction acts as a mediator between local memory and the collective imagination, generating narratives that legitimize diversity and resilience as essential components of urban heritage (Díaz-Osorio et al., 2022; González-Campos, 2021).
One of the most significant effects is its widespread dissemination, which allows for the visibility of realities excluded from official narratives. Wrong Side of the Tracks, broadcast during prime time and distributed on digital platforms, reaches diverse audiences, becoming a channel that brings viewers closer to life on the urban margins. This phenomenon exemplifies what Piñeiro-Naval and Frutos-Esteban (2023) call digital cultural mediation, where audiovisual products not only inform but also generate empathy and challenge prejudices.
The reinterpretation of heritage enacted by the fiction genre is based on the symbolic revaluation of the neighborhood, which ceases to be viewed as a degraded space and becomes a cultural landmark. In Wrong Side of the Tracks, this revaluation is not based on architectural monumentality, but rather on the human fabric, such as intergenerational relationships, support networks, and everyday practices. As Hernández (2021) points out, heritage is constructed through discursive practices. In this sense, the series transforms the everyday into a heritage value, showing that cultural richness resides in shared experiences.
Another fundamental contribution is the creation of an inclusive urban imaginary, which broadens the notion of the city to incorporate the margins as a constitutive part of collective identity. Wrong Side of the Tracks challenges the idea that working-class neighborhoods are failed spaces, reclaiming them as territories of cultural and social value. Herrera Valencia (2023) argues that territorial identity is shaped through symbols and practices that legitimize the affective connection with space; by representing these dynamics, the series contributes to the heritage status of the periphery and questions the spatial hierarchies that have historically defined what deserves to be protected.
Finally, fiction functions as a mediating force for heritage, articulating discourses that connect local memory with the public sphere. This role is amplified in the digital age, where narratives circulate across multiple platforms, fostering the symbolic appropriation of the spaces represented. As González-Campos (2021) indicates, audiovisual fiction can reorient the perception of cultural heritage, generating processes of symbolic heritage preservation that transcend institutional logic and become inscribed in the emotional and community sphere.
Wrong Side of the Tracks acts here as a cultural device that redefines the neighborhood, transforms it into living heritage, and integrates it into a more inclusive urban imaginary. This process reveals the potential of fiction to intervene in the social construction of heritage, expanding its boundaries beyond the monumental and recognizing the centrality of the everyday aspects in urban cultural identity (Higueras-Ruiz et al., 2025).
The analysis suggests that contemporary television fiction can play a significant role in the symbolic reinterpretation of peripheral social housing neighborhoods. Far from being mere narrative settings, these spaces become symbolic territories where memories, identities, and community practices are articulated, shaping a living heritage. The series Wrong Side of the Tracks exemplifies how fiction can transform the social perception of the urban periphery, shifting from stigmatization to cultural appreciation.
First, the series' portrayal of the neighborhood breaks with the homogeneous and negative image that has historically dominated Spanish fiction. While it does not conceal the structural problems
—precariousness, insecurity, violence— it contextualizes them within a network of human relationships that reveals the emotional and cultural richness of the place. This perspective allows us to understand that the criteria for recognizing urban heritage are not limited to object-based views, typical of another era, but also include intangible dimensions such as collective memory and community identity.
Fiction can become a mechanism for symbolic heritage preservation by rescuing stories and experiences that grant dignity to the inhabitants of the neighborhood. Everyday spaces become narrative supports that reinforce the continuity between past and present. In this way, the series contributes to consolidating an inclusive urban imaginary, where the margins are recognized as a constitutive part of the city and not as failed territories.
It also reflects cultural diversity and community resilience. A sense of belonging is built through daily coexistence despite material deprivation, and solidarity becomes a resource in the face of exclusion. This representation challenges stereotypes and offers a more complex view of peripheral neighborhoods, where cultural resistance emerges as a way to preserve ways of life that are part of the urban heritage.
Fiction also functions as a communicative device that amplifies the heritage value of these spaces. By reaching mass audiences and circulating on digital platforms, it contributes to democratizing access to narratives about these urban environments, generating emotional connections that lead viewers to question the prejudices that often characterize these types of neighborhoods. This mediating effect reinforces the idea that audiovisual culture can intervene in the social construction of heritage, expanding its boundaries beyond the monumental and recognizing the centrality of the everyday.
In summary, this work has sought to approach television fiction from the perspective of its potential as a strategic tool for the symbolic recovery of urban spaces typically excluded from official heritage narratives. By recognizing the everyday elements as heritage and highlighting the human richness of the neighborhood, the series offers new possibilities for recognition and belonging in a context marked by fragmentation and inequality. This potential opens a fertile field for future research on the relationship between fiction, heritage, and the city, as well as for the design of cultural policies that integrate the symbolic dimension into urban transformation processes.
Aertsen, V. (2023). Espacio fílmico, denuncia social y memoria urbana: imágenes de Vallecas en el cine quinqui madrileño (1977-1981). L’Atalante. Revista de Estudios Cinematográficos, 36, 107-124. https://doi.org/10.63700/1070
Aertsen, V., Gámir, A., & Manuel, C. (2018). La imagen cinematográfica de la Plaza Mayor de Madrid. Ciudad y Territorio. Estudios Territoriales, 50(197), 539-556. https://recyt.fecyt.es/index.php/CyTET/article/view/76681
Albaladejo Ortega, S. (2023). El Madrid de Los Golfos (1959). In E. Mendieta, & L. Deltell Escolar (Coords), Madrid, ciudad de cine (pp. 131-147). Fragua. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/libro?codigo=954028
Ardèvol, E., & Muntañola, N. (Coords.). (2004). Representación y cultura audiovisual en la sociedad contemporánea. Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. https://www.uoc.edu/dt/esp/ardevol1004.pdf
Berruguete, A. (2024). Cambiar los barrios, cambiar la vida. In M. Querol, M. Calderón Priego, M. Beltrán García-Echániz (Coords.), Javier Campano. Barrios. Madrid 1976-1980 (pp. 9-13). Dirección General de Patrimonio Cultural y Oficina del Español. Consejería de Cultura, Turismo y Deporte de Madrid.
Blázquez, E. (2023). Una visión de Madrid y sus barrios a través del documental “La ciudad es nuestra” de Tino Calabuig. L’Atalante. Revista de estudios cinematográficos, 36, 95-106. https://doi.org/10.63700/1078
Bloch-Robin, M. (2023). De Madrid al infierno: la ciudad en el cine de Carlos Saura. L’Atalante. Revista de Estudios Cinematográficos, 36, 23-36. https://doi.org/10.63700/1129
Cappello, G. (2023). Modulaciones de la ciudad en la ficción televisiva contemporánea. Conexión, 18, 127-147. https://doi.org/10.18800/conexion.202202.005
Castillo Ruiz, J. (2004). Los fundamentos de la protección: el efecto desintegrador producido por la consideración del Patrimonio Histórico como factor de desarrollo. Patrimonio cultural y derecho, 8, 11-36. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/ejemplar/106264
Choay, F. (2007). Alegoría del patrimonio. Gustavo Gili. https://rebiun.baratz.es/OpacDiscovery/public/catalog/detail/b2FpOmNlbGVicmF0aW9uOmVzLmJhcmF0ei5yZW4vMTUyNzE3MzU?tabId=1783935806628
Di Sarli, N. (2020). La ciudad invisible: imaginarios urbanos, territorio y visualidad en dos producciones de la cátedra Taller Básico Escenografía I-II (FDA-UNLP). Cuadernos de Arte, 1, 225-232. http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/173634
Díaz, S., & de la Fuente, M. (2015). Eslabones perdidos del imaginario popular. Aproximaciones al cine de Ladislao Vajda. L’Atalante. Revista de Estudios Cinematográficos, 20, 54-64. https://www.revistaatalante.com/index.php/atalante/article/view/262
Díaz-Osorio, M. S., Páez-Calvo, A., Pulgarín-Osorio, Y., & Ovalle-Garay, J. H. (2022). Resignificación del patrimonio cultural en bordes urbanos. Bitácora Urbano Territorial, 32(1), 247-260. https://doi.org/10.15446/bitacora.v32n1.96008
Donadei, M. (2021). Los movimientos vecinales en Parque Alcosa (Sevilla). Claves para avanzar de una cultura de resistencia hacia la construcción de alternativas para la mejora del hábitat. Hábitat y Sociedad, 14, 71-96. https://doi.org/10.12795/habitatysociedad.2021.i14.05
Elías-Zambrano, R., Ramírez-Alvarado, M., & Jiménez-Marín, G. (2023). Imagen y representación de estereotipos y arquetipos en la ficción audiovisual televisiva española: de Cites a El pueblo como casos de educomunicación en series. Revista Mediterránea de Comunicación, 14(1), 171-190. https://doi.org/10.14198/MEDCOM.23322
Fanjul, S. C. (2024). Cambiar los barrios, cambiar la vida. In M. Querol, M. Calderón Priego, & M. Beltrán García-Echániz (Coords.), Javier Campano. Barrios. Madrid 1976-1980 (pp. 15-17). Dirección General de Patrimonio Cultural y Oficina del Español. Consejería de Cultura, Turismo y Deporte de Madrid.
García-Hernández, J. S. (2020). Estigmatización territorial en la ciudad neoliberal: percepciones y reacciones ciudadanas en las periferias sociales de Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Islas Canarias, España). Boletín De La Asociación De Geógrafos Españoles, 86. https://doi.org/10.21138/bage.2997
González-Campos, M. Á. (2021). Reorientación del patrimonio a través de la ficción literaria y audiovisual. In A. Pérez Jiménez (Coord.), Patrimonio filológico. contribuciones y nuevas perspectivas (pp. 219-232). Peter Lang. https://hdl.handle.net/10630/29316
Hernández, S. (2021). El patrimonio como ideología y como dispositivo de objetivación de la memoria. Cultura y Representaciones Sociales, 15(30), 27-58 https://www.culturayrs.unam.mx/index.php/CRS/article/view/754
Herrera Valencia, A. C. (2023). La identidad territorial, construcción conceptual y estrategia de lectura urbana. Territorios, 49-esp, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/territorios/a.12870
Hiernaux, D., & Lindón, A. (2004). La periferia: voz y sentido en los estudios urbanos. Papeles de Población, 10(42), 101-123. http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=11204205
Higueras-Ruiz, M. J., Lomas-Martínez, S., Martín-García, T., & Marcos-Ramos, M. (2025). Elementos de identidad nacional y cultural en la ficción televisiva española distribuida por RTVE Play. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 83, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.4185/rlcs-2025-2327
Jofré Astudillo, D. (2022). Transmisión, escritura y ficción: del trabajo de la memoria a la construcción de nuevas identidades colectivas. Atenea, 525, 223-241. https://doi.org/10.29393/At525-11TEDJ10011
Lacalle, C. (2003). Inmigración y marginalidad: La representación televisiva del “otro” en las series españolas de ficción. Trípodos, (Extra), 533-544. https://ddd.uab.cat/pub/artpub/2003/204643/tripodos_a2003nextrap533.pdf
Lamy, B. (2020). Sociología urbana o sociología de lo urbano. Estudios Demográficos y Urbanos, 21(1), 211-225. https://doi.org/10.24201/edu.v21i1.1267
Lindón, A. (2020). The periphery: unstable fragments of the city lived. Perspectiva Geográfica, 25(2), 15-33. https://doi.org/10.19053/01233769.10548
Lucero Zúñiga, C. E. (2020). Impacto de la puesta en valor y uso del patrimonio en la construcción de identidad de un barrio de vivienda obrera. El caso de población Centenario, Santiago [Tesis de Máster, Universidad Católica de Chile]. Instituto de estudios Urbanos y Territoriales UC. https://estudiosurbanos.uc.cl/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/TESIS-CLZ.pdf
Manuel, C., Gámir Orueta, A., & Aertsen, V. (2022). Ciudad y ficción audiovisual: enfoques para un análisis geográfico. Boletín de la Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles, 95, 1-49. https://doi.org/10.21138/bage.3328
Marcos Ramos, M., González-de-Garay, B., & Arcila Calderón, A. (2020). Grupos minoritarios en la ficción televisiva española. Cuadernos.info, 46, 307-341. http://doi.org/10.7764/cdi.46.1739
Martín-Barbero, J. (1987). De los medios a las mediaciones: comunicación, cultura y hegemonía. Gustavo Gili. https://perio.unlp.edu.ar/catedras/wp-content/uploads/sites/135/2020/05/de_los_medios_a_las_mediaciones.pdf
Martínez Puche, S., & Castro, D. (2022). El espacio urbano y su influencia narrativa en el cine de ficción: una propuesta metodológica aplicada. Boletín de la Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles, 95, 1-34. https://doi.org/10.21138/bage.3301
Martínez-de la Rosa, A. (2015). Patrimonialización de elementos culturales inmateriales y desarrollo local sostenible. Ra Ximhai, 11(2), 15-29. http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=46143101001
Martins, R. (2016). (Re)contextualizando los sujetos periféricos: territorios creativos, medios y espacios de visibilidad. Chasqui, Revista Latinoamericana de Comunicación, 131, 293-308. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/5792040.pdf
Mejía-Morales, N. (2024). La construcción cotidiana del patrimonio urbano desde una mirada de género. Gremium, 11(22), 61-78. https://doi.org/10.56039/rgn22a06
Mendieta Rodríguez, E., & Deltell Escolar, L. (2023). Madrid, ciudad de cine. Fragua. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/libro?codigo=954028
Moya, L., Monjo, J., & Díez, A. (2017). La arquitectura ordinaria del siglo XX como patrimonio cultural: tres barrios de promoción oficial de Madrid. EURE-Revista de Estudios Urbano Regionales, 43(130), 269-294. https://www.eure.cl/index.php/eure/article/view/2066
Navas-Carrillo, D. (2019). Lo cotidiano como patrimonio. La patrimonialización de los conjuntos de vivienda social. In G. Romero Sánchez, P. Sánchez González, & M. E. del Valle Mejías (Coords), Análisis innovadores para manifestaciones culturales clásicas (pp. 339-352). Pirámide. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=9369928
Navas-Carrillo, D., Rodríguez-Lora, J. A., & Peral-Lopez, J. (2024). Heritage Recognition of Mass Housing Neighbourhoods in Spain. Urban Planning as an Instrument of Protection. ACE: Architecture, City and Environment, 19(55). https://doi.org/10.5821/ace.19.55.12443
Ortega Esquivel, A. (2021). Gestión del patrimonio urbano desde el enfoque de Paisaje Urbano Histórico en Latinoamérica. Arquitectura, Ciudad y Territorio, 12, 5-19. https://doi.org/10.29393/UR12-1AGAO10001
Oyón Bañales, J. L. (1998). La conservación de la vivienda popular en las periferias urbanas. El caso de Barcelona y la Colonia Castells. Scripta Nova: Revista electrónica de Geografía y Ciencias Sociales, 2, 14-31. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=1232091
Oyón Bañales, J. L., Guardia i Bassols, M., Roselló Nicolau, M., Hernández Falagán, D., & Roger Goncé J. (2020). La suburbanización de la clase obrera vivienda, inmigración y movimientos sociales en el área metropolitana de Barcelona (1918-1975). In S. Castillo, & J. Uría González (Coord.), Sociedades y culturas: treinta años de la Asociación de Historia Social (pp 63-87). Trea.
Pérez-Cano, M. T., Navas-Carrillo, D., & Mosquera-Adell, E. (2022). Formas urbanas patrimoniales: la modernidad sostenible. La configuración del tejido urbano residencial del siglo XX en Andalucía en un contexto internacional. Ciudad y Territorio Estudios Territoriales, 54(M), 131-154. https://doi.org/10.37230/cytet.2022.M22.6
Piñeiro-Naval, V., & Frutos-Esteban, F. J. (2023). El valor del patrimonio cultural en la era digital. Anuario Electrónico De Estudios En Comunicación Social "Disertaciones", 16(1), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/disertaciones/a.12714
Ramírez, Y. B. (2019). La vida cotidiana y su influencia en la conservación de las viviendas patrimoniales. Revista Caribeña de Ciencias Sociales, 10. https://www.eumed.net/rev/caribe/index.html
Rojas, E. (2016). El patrimonio urbano para el desarrollo sostenible. In UNESCO. (Ed.), Cultura: futuro urbano; informe mundial sobre la cultura para el desarrollo urbano sostenible (pp. 193-199). Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000260641_spa
Romero-Rodríguez, L. M., de-Casas-Moreno, P., Maraver-López, P., & Pérez-Rodríguez, M. A. (2018). Representaciones y estereotipos latinoamericanos en las series españolas. Convergencia Revista De Ciencias Sociales, 25, 93-121. https://doi.org/10.29101/crcs.v25i78.9162
Ruiz Chasco, S. (2019). Más allá de la Inseguridad Ciudadana: La estigmatización territorial de las clases populares. Una aproximación a partir de un barrio “en disputa”. Scripta Nova: Revista Electrónica de Geografía y Ciencias Sociales, 23, 1-32. https://doi.org/10.1344/sn2019.23.21811
Sabina Gutiérrez, J. (2018). Las distintas concepciones del espacio en la teoría de la narración audiovisual. CIC. Cuadernos de Información y Comunicación, 23, 215-225. https://doi.org/10.5209/CIYC.60688
Sánchez Andrada, J. (2009). El espacio: un problema pendiente en la teoría narrativa del discurso audiovisual. ICONO 14, 7(1), 281-291. https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v7i1.346
Sarlo, B. (1994). Escenas de la vida posmoderna: intelectuales, arte y videocultura en la Argentina. Ariel. https://www.google.es/books/edition/_/9o5-AAAAMAAJ?hl=es&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjF3sbwxc-VAxWFLPsDHUbBJP8Q8fIDegQILRAT
Silva Hidalgo, R., & Barría Catalán, T. (2022). Ejes de la memoria obrera en la construcción social del barrio. Población Linos La Unión (1941-2004). Revista Austral de Ciencias Sociales, 42, 185-202. https://doi.org/10.4206/rev.austral.cienc.soc.2022.n42-10
UNESCO. (2004). Algunas reflexiones sobre autenticidad. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000135216
UNESCO. (2011). Recomendación sobre el paisaje urbano histórico. https://whc.unesco.org/uploads/activities/documents/activity-638-100.pdf
Valle Corpas, I. (2023). Entre la modernidad y la historia: Madrid en el cine documental de los años noventa. In E. Mendieta, & L. Deltell Escolar (Coords), Madrid, ciudad de cine (pp. 201-217). Fragua. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=9273686
Vázquez-Morejón, R., Sell-Trujillo, L., & León-Pérez, J. M. (2024). Espacios urbanos y sentido de comunidad: claves para mejorar la calidad de vida residencial y combatir la soledad no deseada. ACE: Architecture, City and Environment, 19(55). https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=9749394
Vera, P., Gravano, A., & Aliaga, F. (2019). Ciudades (In)descifrables. Imaginarios y representaciones sociales de lo urbano. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. https://www.editorial.unicen.edu.ar/sites/default/files/pdfs/00CiudadesIndescifrables-Librocompleto.pdf
Wacquant, L. (2007). La estigmatización territorial en la edad de la marginalidad avanzada. Ciências Sociais Unisinos, 43(3), 193-199. http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=93843301
Wacquant, L. (2008). Urban Outcasts: A Comparative Sociology of Advanced Marginality. Polity Press. https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=urban-outcasts-a-comparative-sociology-of-advanced-marginality--9780745631240
Zanetti, D. (2009). Cenas da periferia: auto-representação como luta por reconhecimento. E-Compós, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.30962/ec.218
AUTHORS' CONTRIBUTIONS, FUNDING AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Authors' Contributions
Conceptualization: Navas Carrillo, Daniel and Chae, Heechang. Software: Chae, Heechang. Validation: Navas Carrillo, Daniel. Formal Analysis: Navas Carrillo, Daniel and Chae, Heechang. Data Curation: Chae, Heechang. Drafting-Preparation of the Original Draft: Navas Carrillo, Daniel. Drafting-Revision and Editing: Chae, Heechang. Visualization: Chae, Heechang. Supervision: Navas Carrillo, Daniel. Project Management: Navas Carrillo, Daniel. All Authors Have Read and Accepted the Published Version of the Manuscript: Navas Carrillo, Daniel and Chae, Heechang.
Funding: This research has been funded by the Regional Ministry of Development, Territorial Planning and Housing, within the framework of the call for proposals for research projects in areas under the jurisdiction of the General Secretariat for Housing (UMA.24-09). It has also received funding from the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through the predoctoral grant for the training of university faculty (FPU23/03295).
Acknowledgments: This article is part of the projects “(re)SOHO: Innovative Perspectives on Urban Heritage. Toward the Re-Heritagization of Social Housing Neighborhoods,” (B1-2023-019) and “(re)HAB|UDT: Bases for the development and implementation of digital twins in the comprehensive rehabilitation of neighborhoods" (UMA.24-09).
Conflict of Interest: There is no conflict of interest.
Daniel Navas Carrillo
University of Malaga
Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Spatial Planning. Member of the Research Group on Heritage and Urban and Territorial Development in Andalusia (HUM700) and the University Institute of Habitat, Territory and Digitalization (iHTD). His research focuses on urban regeneration processes, integrating the urban, architectural, environmental, social, and heritage dimensions that characterize them. His work aims to contribute to the development of more balanced, sustainable, and inclusive urban models that promote lower resource consumption in the current context of climate crisis. He is currently the Deputy Vice-Rector for Postgraduate and Continuing Education at the University of Málaga and Secretary of the National Association of Professors of Urban Planning and Spatial Planning.
H-index: 9
Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9704-3204
Scopus ID: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=57196946543
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=t8K4fhMAAAAJ
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Daniel-Navas-Carrillo
Heechang Chae
University of Malaga
He is a predoctoral researcher (FPU grant) in the Urban Planning and Development Department at the University of Malaga. He is a member of the UTOPIA research group (HUM-969) and the University Institute for Research on Habitat, Territory and Digitalization (iHTD). His research focuses on contemporary urban transformations, with particular attention to urban shrinkage, urban regeneration, and territorial planning from an international comparative perspective. He also participates in research projects related to housing, urban regeneration, comprehensive neighborhood rehabilitation, and territorial sustainability.
Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4686-5487
Related Articles
Aguilar Conde, P., & Cantalapiedra Nieto, B. (2024). La serie televisiva Detective Touré como ejemplo de personajes no racializados en la televisión pública y su efectiva responsabilidad social. European Public & Social Innovation Review, 9, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.31637/epsir-2024-749
Freire-Sánchez, A., Fitó-Carreras, M., & Vidal-Mestre, M. (2024). Intertextualidad entre literatura, cinematografía y educación: el patrón narrativo estratégico en El arte de la guerra y Juego de Tronos. Revista de Comunicación de la SEECI, 57, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.15198/seeci.2024.57.e887
López-Balsas, A., García-López, J., & Cabezuelo-Lorenzo, F. (2024). Indicadores de calidad en las series de televisión contraculturales: El caso paradigmático de Hung (HBO). Revista de Ciencias de la Comunicación e Información, 29. https://doi.org/10.35742/rcci.2024.29.e302
Marzorati, Z., & Gruber, M. (2026). Cine y sociedad: Conflictos sociopolíticos y culturales. Sus representaciones en el discurso audiovisual. Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios en Diseño y Comunicación. Ensayos, 290, 195-199. https://urls.fr/WdncjM
Noriega, E. B. (2025). Recrear el cine de Hollywood: Ensayar variaciones para refundar los sentidos del cine. Arkadin, 14, e073-e073. https://doi.org/10.24215/2525085Xe073