Cidade e cultura: o Distrito Criativo Centro-Gare como experiência do processo de desenvolvimento contemporâneo

The present article aims to reflect on the revaluation of the territory of the Centro-Gare Creative District in Santa Maria-RS and its sociocultural, economic and political specificities as a strategy for the contemporary development process. The Creative District is an initiative of several organizations that seek to value memory and identity combined with the city's sustainable development perspectives. We observed that Distrito Criativo Centro-Gare promotes sustainable development by integrating cultural and economic practices that value local identity and promote social inclusion, attracting investments and tourists, generating employment and income for the community, while revitalizing urban areas, improving the infrastructure. However, based on the analysis of online media records between 2022/23, we observed that there is a concentration of efforts on heritage revitalization and the creation of attractive public spaces, which is important at first, but requires actions that generate mobilization and more effective involvement of social actors to consolidate the project.