The new urban social question in Buenos Aires downtown

HERZER, HILDA; GOMEZ, MARIANA SOLEDAD; DI VIRGILIO MARIA MERCEDES; RODRIGUEZ MARIA CARLA; MERLINSKY MARIA GABRIELA

San Pablo

Congreso; ISA RC21 2009; 2009

ISA

Since the 1970s, downtown areas in the cities of some central countries have gone through urban renewal. Most research on this issue has focused on these urban processes in the developed world but has rarely addressed them in Latin American cities. Our work summarises the main findings of a longitudinal study which began in 1998 in the La Boca, San Telmo and Barracas quarters in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It examines gentrification through an analysis of the affected households’ characteristics – socio-economic level, living standards and employment – in order to determine which aspects of their life styles make them vulnerable to displacement. It also scrutinises the residents’ perception of change as well as the local and national governments’ interventions that encourage such developments. The purpose of our study is to increase the empirical evidence in this regard about Latin American cities, given the wide range of processes underway, and to contribute to the existing body of theory in this field.