Fishing coves in Chile have originated back into even prehistoric times and represent a way of life associated with a family economy passed on from generation to generation. Some of these settlements have a relationship of dependency and conflict with the larger nuclear urban centers. Such is the case of the Coquimbo Bay where San Pedro and Penuelas, are little settlements in the process of being integrated into the conurbation of La Serena-Coquimbo. Using a socio-spatial analysis, this investigation inquiry into the relationships that the cove communities establish with their inhabited space, identifying the formal and spatial elements that are most valued and appropriated by their inhabitants along with the elements of community identity and their contextual support. It's evident the direct relationship between productive activity and residential space, as a fundamental element in the conservation and identity development of the coast border, in context of vulnerability to natural and human threat.