Resumo
Santiago de Compostela (Spain) is renowned for its historical and architectural heritage, which is closely associated with the Church and the city’s university. It is not an industrial city, nor does it have a large working-class population. However, certain areas on the outskirts of the city arose as a result of the social housing policy of the final years of the Franco regime. These residential areas were characterised by the low quality of the building materials employed, their lack of basic urban infrastructure and overcrowding. During the 1960s and 1970s, these neighbourhoods became home to underprivileged people who mainly moved in from rural areas. Policies which marginalised these residents led to problems of integration and crime, particularly in the 1980s. One such residential area (Vite), located in the north of the city, has undergone a process of great change from the time of its foundation to the present day, now being considered one of the most desirable areas to live in the city. The fighting spirit of the neighbourhood’s residents and their achievements have played a fundamental role in this process of change. Their struggle has left a material culture consisting of objects and documents of historical and sentimental value for the residents of the neighbourhood. For this reason, the Vite Arquiva initiative was created some years ago to create, organise and maintain a community archive and to promote different activities relating to the historical memory of the area. This initiative arose from the interconnecting memories of the community’s members, even reaching back to times before the construction of the residential area, to the rural life which thrived in the same physical space.