Resumen | One important problem in many cities of Latin America and the Caribbean is the deterioration and/or underutilization of their historical centres. This is expressed in abandoned buildings, vacant and underutilized plots (i.e. serving as provisional parking plots) and, at the same time, badly kept and overcrowded subdivided buildings (Rojas, 2004).The problem becomes more relevant given the heritage value of some of these areas, often with listed buildings and monuments protected by conservation laws. In this context, public agencies such as the US National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) have noted that … “the preservation of this irreplaceable heritage is in the public interest, so that its legacy of cultural, educational, aesthetic, inspirational and economic benefits will be maintained and enriched for future generations” (Rypkema & Cheong, 2011).Chile is not an exception; the centre of its capital city, Santiago, suffered for many years a depopulation and obsolescence process. In answer to this and following the lines of the NHPA, in 2013 the Chilean Ministry of Housing and Urbanism (MINVU, for its acronym in Spanish) expanded its Neighbourhood Recovery Program to include heritage neighbourhoods |