Isidora Cousiño Park in Lota: Relevance as an historical milestone and significant venue for collective memory and identity building.

Abstract

This article presents the main features of one of Chile’s most unique historical gardens. The Isidora Cousiño Park is known for its spatial qualities and its symbolic value for the collective identity and memory of the inhabitants of Lota, a coal mining city. The park is particularly important at present given Lota’s double challenge: Preserving its traditional sites and, at the same time, carrying out a series of urban and social transformations related to the closing of the coal mines in 1997 and the industrial streamlining process. In the context of such radical changes, this park is highly appreciated by the community as the city’s most important landmark.