Urban sprawl in the peri-urban areas of La Plata and its surroundings, Argentina.

DISCOLI, CARLOS; MARTINI, IRENE

International Society of City and Regional Planners.

ISoCaRP Editorial Board

Lugar: Dalian, China; Año: 2008; p. 1 - 12

The metropolitan area of La Plata city and its surroundings, capital of Buenos Aires city, conceived as the first planned contemporary city of Argentina, registered in the period 1990/2000, a not planned urban growth of the peri-urban areas. Its consequence on the urban form, has been a not planned de-concentrated urban growth that modified the original limits of the city.That peri-urban growth modified the original hygienists? precepts that had been defined in the original project of the city, its layout, its structures and quality of the main urban systems. Those socio-spatial transformations changed its original form of compact city, becoming in borders and diffuse satellites. This modification changed, among other fundamental aspects, the electricity services and natural gas network, as well as the urban environmental and habitability of its inhabitants. The main variables, the socio-spatial consequences and the habitants? opinion on the phenomena involved are analysed in a cuali-quantitative model of urban life quality (ISOCARP, selected papers, 40th Congress. Istanbul 2006) and (ASADES, XXX working Meeting, San Luis 2007). Quality maps of homogeneous areas are conformed that identify the urban services offer through the infrastructure, covering, as well as the demand requirements taking into account the habitants perception. As a result of the work, areas with more urban vulnerability are presented, as a consequence of the urban sprawl in agreement with the biggest lacks of urban control. This confirms the trajectory of growing unsustainability that we have detected in this agglomeration. We conclude that the appropriate answer would correspond to a planning that includes cuali-quantitative models that contemplate the urban and environmental aspects integration.