ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that the complexity of a 'popular' economy and culture within different urban contexts and how the popular economy is increasingly entering into conflict with security policies and the police and well as with an exclusionary aesthetic associated with the notion of heritage. The chapter explores three analytical areas: processes of physical obsolescence and territorial, class and racial stigmatisation suffered by the Mercado de San Roque, a place which has been historically neglected by public authorities. They also include the disputes among public interventions, heritage-led urban renewal and real estate speculation in relation to the San Roque neighbourhood and the Mercado de San Roque and this market is further analysed according to the views of indigenous and mestizo people, who associate this area with hospitality and daily life. San Roque has been regarded as a dangerous place; however, the research suggests this area offers rich street-based relational spaces and urban hospitality.
