Globalization and urban policies: Urban policies transformation in Buenos Aires city

BEATRIZ CUENYA

Globalization, Urban Form and Gobernance. First International Conference Alfa-Ibis Peoceedings

Delft University Press

Año: 2000; p. 99 - 107

The re-structuring of capitalism at a world leve1 and the deep macro-economic and institutional reforms taking place in Latin America have brought along noticeable changes, not only in the territorial configuration, but also in urban policies, urban planning and city conceptions. There are growing evidences that new macro-economical and institutional conditions are worsening inequalities both inside and among citieS. The factors thought to be influencing the economic and social division of space are progressively outside the State's competence. This poses serious questions about the future of cities. Although the urban policies belonging to the so called "semi-welfare" States as well as the traditional urban planning have been severely contested due to their scarce results in terms of development and socio-territorial equity, there is still a key question regarding emerging urban policies that remains unanswered: will they be able to cope with the double challenge of transforming the city into an efficient structure capable of hosting the internationalised sector of economy and, at the same time, develop an equitable social and territorial environment so as to relieve poverty and social exclusion, guaranteeing urban security and governability? The ideas sketched above are developed here, with the case of Buenos Aires City expounded as an example of the current transformations