SANTO DOMINGO, RD - The urban transformation of the Colonial City of Santo Domingo , the revitalization of its heritage and the boosting of the economy, without losing its community essence, is a complex challenge, because while investments improve the infrastructure, multiple experts have warned that imbalances in the real estate market and the lack of inclusion policies are causing a silent exodus of the traditional population.
The walled area, just over 1 square kilometer, has been undergoing intervention 21st century 2011, when the Inter-American Development Bank loaned US$ 30 million with the intention of strengthening the country's tourism management and not limiting it to the popular all-inclusive model, which left little money outside the hotels and only offered sun and beach, to which are added US$90 million from another contract with the IDB in 2017, to repair streets, facades, bury cables and renovate monuments.
By the early 1990s, for the 1992 celebrations of the 5th Centenary of the discovery, the Colonial City had already been restored, and all these rehabilitations have generated an accelerated process of gentrification that has worried residents, academics and heritage experts.
Gentrification is when an old neighborhood or area is renovated to improve its infrastructure, public services, and housing, which drives up the cost of both renting and selling properties. New residents arrive, new businesses open, more resources come in, and as a result, the original inhabitants are forced to migrate.
Back in May 2023, at the 61st Seminar of the Dominican Committee of ICOMOS, entitled “Gentrification, Transformation and Development: the destiny of historic centers” , professionals warned that the Colonial City of Santo Domingo was facing a process of urban transformation that could not be seen only as renewal, but as a clear case of gentrification.
At that time, national and international experts analyzed the elements that evidenced this process in the Colonial City, such as the migration of the original residents, the increase in rental and sale prices of houses and buildings, as well as the proliferation of short-term rentals, according to the publication of that date on the portal AquiTEXTO.com , which indicates that a similar process is taking place in Havana, San Juan and Cartagena.
In February 2024, sociologist César Pérez warned in the newspaper Hoy about the need to provide protection to long-time residents, because “renewal processes can lead to the expulsion of traditional families: solutions must be established that favor the resident,” said the professional.
Pérez pleaded to prevent the Colonial City of Santo Domingo from experiencing what happened in Malaga , the Spanish city (located in the Andalusian Mediterranean), “with a very interesting cultural life, which in 1998 was still inhabited by “Malagueños”, but currently is only a city visited by tourists.”
Prior to that, in December 2014, Diario Libre published a review of the round table "The Colonial City of Santo Domingo, World Heritage: Social Relationship between the Local and the Global," in which architects Maribel Villalona, Edda Grullón, Diana Martínez, Esteban Prieto, and Omar Rancier addressed the challenges posed by the rescue process initiated in the walled city and suggested the creation of mechanisms to guarantee the permanence of the local population.
Architect Diana Martinez focused on demographic replacement and the change from residential to tertiary use (bars, cafes, Airbnb), and said that this change puts pressure on the local community: “The fewer residents there are, the less community participation there will be,” she said at the panel, within the framework of the “II Transdisciplinary Congress of the Caribbean: The Future of Social Sciences.”
The committee suggested “ more inclusive governance and fostering public-private partnerships that ensure affordable housing in the historic center, regulating foreign property purchases, and establishing citizen committees with real oversight power,” with the aim of balancing economic development, heritage preservation, and social justice.
In the November 2024 Tourism Summary, Domingo Matías, Vice Minister of Territorial and Regional Planning of the Ministry of Economy, is quoted as saying at the ALAS RD-Caribbean 2024 Congress: “ A city without citizens… is a hollow space, devoid of social content.”
Pedro del Castillo, a resident of the Colonial City and a community leader, told Diario Libre in July 2017: “It seems that the objective is for us residents to leave here,” referring to the prolonged construction work on streets such as Las Damas and El Conde.
The article in the newspaper's digital version reported that the first $30 million had been used to paint some 800 homes, restore 200 colonial-era facades, replace drinking water pipes, sewage and public lighting, and build new sidewalks.
On May 11, 2025, the online newspaper Proceso.com published a report contrasting the support some had for the projects with the rejection from others due to the length of time they had taken. The report quoted citizen Héctor Morales's criticisms regarding parking and mobility difficulties in the historic center: “It's a lack of direction… we've been dealing with this for over five years . The (Tourism) Minister should move to the Colonial Zone. If you're not involved in the sector, you won't know the reality,” he added.
The publication also quoted Ely Reyes, a frequent visitor, who complained that multiple streets are closed and that the pedestrian paths are narrow and uncomfortable. “All they leave are alleyways or side streets for people to walk on. That's a lack of planning.”.
The report quotes Felipe González, who is pleased with the work being done and looks to the future: “They are doing a huge project to turn this into one of the most beautiful colonial cities in the world,” a sentiment also expressed by Rudelkis Almonte, while Miguel de los Santos, a “parking attendant,” is optimistic and said that progress will begin to be noticeable in some areas, although he acknowledged that it could still take one or two more months to see significant improvements.
In every restored stone, cobblestone, or baluster, in every lamppost lit in the Colonial City, a contradiction : the impulse to beautify may be erasing the traces of those who have given life to the neighborhood for decades and centuries. The streets that once smelled of freshly brewed coffee and laundry drying in the sun now smell of dust and displacement.
The heart of the Colonial City beats and renewal advances with a firm step, while the footsteps of the long-time residents and visitors fade away , not silently because of the constant noise, and the artists and poets are exiled, further and further south.
In this rescue process, the city risks losing what cannot be rebuilt: its people. As César Pérez warned (paraphrased): “A city is not inherited only through its monuments, but through those who live in it, walk its streets, and defend it.”
Key sources
- Listín Diario: “Urban revitalization…” (2018) listindiario.com
- Hoy.com.do: interview with César Pérez (Feb 2024) hoy.com.do
- IDB.org: Details of US$90 million loan (2024) iadb.org+1listindiario.com+1
- Diario Libre: voices of urban planners and architects (2023–2024) reddit.com+8diariolibre.com+8diariolibre.com+8
- NBC News Latino / ADN: Resident Testimony (2025) diariolibre.com
- Arquitexto: Reflections from the ICOMOS seminar (2023) arquitexto.com
