Another Side of Public Space in Latin American Cities

DANIEL KOZAK

Roma

Congreso; Biennale dello Spazio Pubblico; 2015

Istituto Nazionale di Urbanistica

The main purpose of this round table is to revisit the debate on public space in Latin American cities, and in particular to focus on the role of mobility infrastructure and its capacity to contribute to placemaking. Additionally, it is our aim to propose a renewed look at emblematic public spaces in streets and avenues in cities in Latin America that transcends the stereotypical depictions which oftentimes precede discussions on ?the Latin American city?. It is expected that the debate ? motivated by the exposition of several case studies in the region ? will dwell not only in the similarities of the cases examined, but also ? and most importantly ? in their particularities and different essential characteristics; challenging if ?appropriate ? the notion of ?the Latin American City?. On the one hand, we will try to identify some common trends behind the urban diversity presented. On the other, the selected cases will highlight both the distinct geographical conditions of our cities ?e.g. Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Santiago ? and the thematic arc that traverses this discussion ? including issues such as, mobility, activities, location (centre periphery), scale (from architecture and micro urban to metropolitan), landscape and environment, governance and citizenship (e.g. pressure groups, income and responses).