The impact of overtourism on architecture and urban space in historic cities: an understudied phenomenon

Abstract

Since the massive scale of urban tourism (at the end of the 20th century), which caused an exponential increase of visitors to cities, the density of tourist activity in historic boroughs has come to cause strong tourist pressure on the grid and buildings of these spaces. Motivated by local policies, which promote tourist attraction and expansion, this monoculture results in a simplification of the way in which urban centres operate. Beyond the academic acceptance of the concept of overtourism, the aim of this study is to lay the foundations to delve into a dimension of such impact that is barely explored: the influences of overtourism on the architecture and urban space of historic centres, affecting functionality, space, buildings, and urban landscape. In other words, the elements of heritage. The study of the state of the art on tourism and touristification in historic cities has made it possible to document the impacts of overtourism that affect the architectural and urban component of heritage cities mentioned in the scientific literature. This analysis reveals a significant lack of studies that address overtourism from the point of view of architecture and urban space and show the relevance of the subject.