This study examines the intersecting physical and social vulnerabilities of historic urban areas in Latin America, focusing on La Chimba, an historic quarter in Santiago, Chile. Despite its cultural significance, this neighborhood faces recurrent exposure to earthquakes, fires and floods, while simultaneously enduring multidimensional poverty and limited institutional recognition. These overlapping conditions create a scenario of heightened fragility that threatens both local communities and the preservation of heritage assets. The research employs an interdisciplinary, multiscalar approach to assess vulnerabilities, combining structural analysis of unreinforced buildings with a tailored Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), based on factors like overcrowding and inadequate access to services. The study maps the spatial correlation between MPI values and building vulnerabilities, validating the findings with drone imagery. Results show that only 12% of heritage buildings are protected by formal regulations, while nearly 20% of households experience overcrowding. Spatial analysis reveals that unprotected heritage assets are located in high-poverty areas, highlighting the overlap between physical fragility and socio-economic deprivation. This underscores the need to integrate socio-spatial vulnerability into heritage risk management.
Vasquez et al. (2026) studied this question.