How to approach popular urbanization? An incursion in the practices, struggles and conquests in a popular neighborhood of Mar del Plata city, Argentina

Abstract

The traditional approaches to the processes and practices of popular urbanization are permeated by hegemonic viewpoints, in which the main urbanizing figure is the State. In the absence of this, it ends up generating a reduced and homogeneous analysis and diagnostics, signalizing only and exclusively for the urbanization deficit and precariousness of this territory. A need to think critically about these diachronic processes, permeated by tensions, struggles, and conquests, beyond multiple actors, led to granting other approximations. Thus, the present work has as objective to approach popular urbanization from a theoretical-critical and axiological perspective, opening the dialogue with the knowledge and potentialities that these territories possess. In an empirical order, a popular neighborhood, located in Mar del Plata city, Argentina will be analyzed. The results were obtained with a qualitative methodology, based on interviews, participant observation, and photographic records. The conclusion reveals that it is possible to understand popular urbanization as an autonomous manifestation and not merely a filling in of the gaps left by the absence of the State or the lack of interest by the capital.

Keywords:
Local knowledge; Popular neighborhood; Self-management; Self-construction