 Inhabiting prison surroundings, appropriating its cultural requalification 
Having historically developed around its industrial port, the city of Valparaiso has been experiencing a crisis since the 1990s. Economic recovery policies were implemented in the 2000s, focusing on the sectors of heritage and tourism as well as the development of universities. The decommissioning of the former prison and its gradual transformation into a cultural park are concurrent with this process of urban transformation. This article explores the relationship between the prison and the city through the memories of Valparaiso’s residents, suggesting that the ways in which people remember their proximity to the prison, associated with their experiences in the neighbourhood and its ongoing urban changes, brings to light the new social boundaries that are being produced.