No sooner is the last roofing tile set in place than a building begins to deteriorate. The paint peels, the foundation settles and the walls crack. Insects with an appetite for wood move in and start raising families. The neighborhood also ages.
Roads crumble, water mains begin to leak, and cash-strapped landlords put off maintenance.
This cycle of urban creation and destruction has been going on in Hispanic American cities for more than 400 years. Much has already been lost. But from steamy ports like Cartagena and Salvador to Quito and Cuzco in the snow-peaked Andes, a great deal of the region's urban heritage remains intact. At first, the job was spearheaded by the region's cultural elites, and more recently by enlightened municipal authorities. This message has not been lost on urban planners.