The relations between historical heritage, civil society and the State in historical cities are of outstanding interest, and a multidisciplinary approach from social sciences is required to tackle them. There are contradictions between the cultural heritage public-destiny guaranteed by the State and the forms by which conservation and management have been carried out, due to the marginalization of initiatives from citizens, from social movements, whereas other initiatives fostering heritage the matization and marketization have been implemented. It is argued that these processes respond to private interests acting for their own benefit, and therefore in opposition to the socially based conceptualisation of cultural heritage. Given this situation, the capacity of radical movements and projects in the daily struggle against the neoliberalisation of the historical city is explored, focusing on the repercussions for urban heritage discourse and praxis through an example in the city of Cadiz.
