Gentrification in the city of Buenos Aires: global trends and local features

HILDA HERZER; MARÍA MERCEDES DI VIRGILIO; MARÍA CARLA RODRÍGUEZ

Global gentrifications. Uneven development and displacement

Policy Press

Lugar: Bristol; Año: 2015; p. 199 - 222

Gentrification is a phenomenon that has become widespread and integrated into wider processes, both urban and global, and is differentiated from what happened during previous decades when these processes were circumscribed within specific sites. It is important to question the extent to which gentrification processes in Latin American cities are part of the establishment of a new urban order or if, on the contrary, they are historic processes of urban change in city centres that recently have only become more noticeable. It is important to note that the interest in rehabilitating old quarters in the privileged location of large Latin American cities is fundamentally guided by the profitability of its housing and commerce and by the possibilities of its touristic exploitation. Within this process, the existing divisions among different social sectors are increasingly evident: barriers are no longer virtual as in past decades but are constructed in such a way as to create highly unequal conditions regarding access to urban facilities, urban aesthetics, green spaces, etc. Although these new processes are not totally different in their characteristics in comparison to those apparent during the 1990s, they have changed in terms of their degree and intensity, making economic and social differences more profound. This chapter looks at the development of gentrification processes in the southern city of Buenos Aires in Argentina. These processes started at the beginning of the 1990s; but during the last decade and, particularly as a way out from the 2000-2002 political and financial crises, they have gained an unusual strength and have extended to different quarters and locations in the city. In this chapter, we deal more specifically with the process as it has taken place in the city?s southern area. We begin by summarising the main findings of a longitudinal study (as yet unusual in the gentrification literature) 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 households? characteristics ? its socio-economic level, living standards, and employment statistics ? in order to determine which aspects of their life makes them vulnerable to displacement. We scrutinised the residents? perception of change as well as the local and national governments? interventions that encouraged the developments to urban space. The purpose of our study was to increase the empirical ?evidence? about ?gentrification? in Latin American cities, given the wide range of processes underway, and to contribute to the existing theoretical body in this field.