- Metropolis in Transformation: Buenos Aires, between economic growth and social disintegration    click here to open paper content800 kb
by    Mignaqui, Iliana & Ciccolella, Pablo & Szajnberg, Daniela | ilianamignaqui@arnet.com.ar   click here to send an email to the auther(s) of this paper
Short Outline
This paper focuses on the territorial effects of a decade of neo-liberal economic growth in Buenos Aires metropolitan city, showing the main axes of action in different Plans and Projects and discussing the tension between integrating and disintegrating forces which have worsened existing historical inequalities.
Abstract
After a decade of economic neo-liberalism and a progressive lack of interest in territorial policies from part of the state, the twentieth century ends with a more divided and polarized metropolis. Urban landscape shows the marks of the frivolousness town planning, great projects and the growth poverty geography.
The argentinian state reform and its economic dis-regulation at the early nineties, generated an institutional, juridical and macroeconomic scene, which was advantageous for direct investment, strengthening the primacy of market over state. Urban policies accompanied the claims of private sector, an the city turned into a sphere of profit-takings in real estate, very attractive for stakeholders: Strategic City Planning and City Marketing became privileged tools.
The promotion of urban projects above the most profitable metropolitan fragments, together with the selectivity of capital in its location and profitability strategies, aggravated socio-territorial metropolitan inequalities. Economic and governance crisis in 2001, emphasized social consequences of the neo-liberal agenda.
The first assumption which upholds this work implies that every phase of capitalist modernization involves an economic-territorial development model, which is physically materialized by specific architectural and city planned shapes.
The second assumption shows that there is a link between the processes of capitalist restructuring –including globalization, regional economic integration, the third industrial revolution, the neo-liberal state reform, changes in socio-cultural patterns and the direction of investments- and the alteration of metropolitan territorial structures. The tension between integrating and disintegrating forces should worsen historical existing inequalities.
So this paper focuses on the effects of the main changes produced after a decade of economic growth, specially direct foreign investment in Buenos Aires. It also will show maps containing the main axes of action in different Plans, programs and Projects. Likewise, it will reflect on the duality and contradiction of those processes and its options of management.
Keywords
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