1

CRDOBA
Ana Fal - Cecilia Marengo

1. CITY DATA
Location:
Longitude: 64 degrees 11 West of Greenwich
Latitude: 32 degrees 24 South
Altitude: between 360 480 m above sea level.
Strategically located at the mid-point between the
main ports of the dual AtlanticPacific ocean trade
corridor.
Crude child mortality rate: 6.9 per 1,000
Net migratory rate x 1000: -031
Life expectancy (men) = 67.4 years (1991)
Life expectancy (women) = 74.5 years (1991)
Masculinity Index: 91.5%
Density: 50.5 inhabitants / hectare (in urban areas)

Population of the Province of Crdoba: Income Distribution

3,660,000 inhabitants (2001 Census) The lowest income sector (40%) of the population
Provincial land area: 165, 000 km2 receives 16.3% of the total earnings, while the
highest income sector (20%) receives 48 %.
Municipality of Crdoba Of this 40%, 53% live in low-income
Municipal land area: (24 x 24 Km) 576 Km2 neighbourhoods and 47% live in precarious
Land Use: (100 %) settlements.
Urbanizable area: 25.438 h (44.17%)
Rural use: 17,000 h (29.51%) Population with Unsatisfied Basic Needs (UBN):
Industrial use: 8,703 h (15.10%) 155,319 (12.2%) -2001 Census.
Green space: 6,461 h (11.22%) Population below the poverty line: In 2001:
Urban area: 23,574 h. 505,532 (36.25%). In 2003: 48.4%.
Occupied area: 18,000 h Population below the indigence line: 167,580
-Central area: 460 h (12%) EPH Oct. 2001. In 2003: 21.6%.
-Intermediary area: 3,600 h Population with no medical coverage: (national,
-Peripheral area: 21,378 h private, or mutual health insurance) 574,455
-Vacant area: 4,770 h (1,217 within the surrounding Economically Active Population: 40.8% (EPH
bypass, and 3,552 outside the bypass) 2003)
- Surface area of risk endeavours in the green belt: Employed population: 34.1%
23,185 h Unemployed population: 10.4%
-Green area per inhabitant: 9.5m2/inhab. Underemployed population: 15.8%
The city has 376 official neighbourhoods, however, Crdobas GGP share in the countrys GDP:
including de facto neighbourhoods the number rises 8.8% at current values (2002)
to: 411 Cost of construction per m2: $US 223 (2004)

Population: Housing (2001 Census):

2001: 1,284,582 inhabitants Total number of dwellings: 345,857 units
1991: 1,179,372 inhabitants Hotel or boarding houses: 3,728
1980: 990,968 inhabitants Precarious dwellings: 5,925
1947: 386,828 inhabitants Mobile dwellings: 31
Dwellings in good condition:
Population Growth: (Type A) 238,412
1947 - 1960: 3.15 % Others (Type B) 24,455
1960 - 1970: 3.07 % Dwelling size (2001 Census)
1970 - 1980: 2.16 % Total number of dwellings: 359,530
1980 - 1991: 1.62 % 1 person: 16.2 %;
1991- 2001: 0.87 % 2 -3 -4 persons: 60.2 %;
The city of Crdoba houses 41.9% of the 5 persons or more: 23.6%
provinces population. Average number of persons per dwelling: 3.4
Population density: 2,285 inhab./km2
Crude birth rate x 1,000: 16.4 per 1,000
 2

Service Provision Literacy rates: 100% primary level, 74% secondary

Infrastructure Networks (Percentage of coverage): level (UNESCO)

Surface Area % Population % Universities:

Water 99 92.5 National University of Crdoba: 85 degrees and
Electricity 99.5 100 118,922 students.
Gas 87 91 Catholic university of Crdoba: (Private)
Paved Roads 62.5 80 18 degrees and 7,278 students.
Sewer System 9.8 42 Technological University of Crdoba: (Public): 7
Telephone 78 degrees and 4,467 students
Blas Pascal University: (Private): 13 degrees and
Non-cable television: 2 private channels and 1 4,803 students.
national.
Infrastructure: Recreation
Bike paths: 375,000 m.2 approx.200 km. 90 hotels with a total of 7,398 beds
Buses: 60 different routes, with 493 buses Culture:
Trolleybus: 5 circuits, with 29 trolleys 16 Museums, 27 Theatres, Movie theatres 16
Number of passengers / movement 825 green public squares: 3,000,000 m2
Total number of passengers transported by bus per 6 large public parks: 3,100,000 m2
year: 125 million, per trolleybus: 1.8 million Green space per inhabitant: 9.5 m2 / person
Air transport: 51 daily flights, with an average of
2,497 persons. Municipal Budget
Land transport: Bus terminal with 50 docks. Daily Annual municipal revenue1: (US$): 132 million
movement of passengers: minimum average: 45,000 (2004), equivalent to 395, 536,000 million pesos.
maximum average: 80,000.

Number of automobiles: (in 2003) 436,738
Motorization rate: 1 automobile / 2.93 inhabitants
Education
There is wide educational provision given the
coexistence of municipal, provincial (public and
private) and national establishments, at preschool,
primary and secondary levels.
Source: Gua Estadstica de Crdoba [the
Statistical Guide of Crdoba], 2004.
Boletn Estadstico de la Provincia de Crdoba Ao
[Statistical Bulletin of the Province of Crdoba] 2
Num. 18. Dec 2003 Direccin de Estadstica de
Crdoba [Statistics Office of Crdoba] (2000).
 3

2. CITY PROFILE (400 words)

Located in the center of the country, Crdoba is the second city in terms of population and
is one of the main urban agglomerations in Argentina. It is also considered as the second city
given its economic dynamics that represent 8.8% of the Argentinas Gross Domestic Product.
In the framework of regional bloc integration processes (MERCOSUR), Crdoba is an
ideal geo-strategic location in terms of economic and commercial articulation, and offers
important advantages for the supply of services with a roadway system that creates possibilities
for exchange and communication both regionally and internationally. At the same time, the city
boasts a concentrated wealth of administration activities, university education, high complexity
health centers, advanced tertiary services (tourist, financial, professional, and logistic, among
others) and industrial activities.
Crdoba city is the capital of the Province of Crdoba, a province within which 52% of
the economy is concentrated in the service sector: 23% on secondary sector, and 23% on primary
sector. Provincial exports include goods of industrial and agricultural origin and primary
products, with main destinations include Mercosur (33%), the European Union (22.5%), the
Asia-Pacific region (9.8%), NAFTA (4.2%), and the rest of the world (30.5%). According to the
Municipality, the city has a diversified economic base that tends towards specialization. During
the nineties, the two most important productive growth sectors were the metal mechanic
machinery and equipment industry (car factories, car-parts), and the food network industry.
Cordoba citys composition of gross domestic product (GDP) is 33% in the production of goods
and 67% in the production of services, representing 53% of the provinces GDP.
Besides its commercial, managerial and financial role, the city is also an important
national and regional center for education. Furthermore, the city is a tourist attraction for all
those that are drawn to the popular mountains and rivers of the provinces landscape.
Crdoba was a monocentric city until the 80s. Its physical and spatial structure exhibits a
concentrated model of circulation, with a strong radial model of avenues and corridors that
accentuate the one central model. In keeping with the pattern of urban development in Argentina,
the city had a dense central area and a very low density and expanded periphery, with a
progressive consolidated intermediary area.
Considerable heterogeneity is observed in respect to patterns of spatial occupation and
densities, with consolidated areas coexisting with other semi-rural areas. Problems are also
observed, although acutely minute, in relation to the unequal dispersion and provision of services
and infrastructure.
In the early nineties, an incipient process of functional decentralization began with the
emergence of service centers in the periphery. This process was accompanied by the
improvement of urban-metropolitan road infrastructure, based on objectives aimed at increasing
urban productivity and competition so as to situate the city within the global context. The greater
dispersion in spatial occupation patterns, the rise in urban land consumption, and the
intensification of residential segregation were evident characteristics of this process.

3. CITY HISTORY (800 words)

The city was founded by the Spanish on July 6th, 1573. Since its founding the city has
maintained its strategic position as a hub for the economic, commercial and communication
 4

systems of the region. The colonial grid of 7 by 10 blocks was extended and modified during the
citys different phases of growth.
According to Carmona & Burgess (2001), spatial planning and the pattern of urban
development in each period respond to a different articulation between the State and the Market.
Policies, goals and planning instruments applied in Latin America from the postwar period to
date might be referred to as belonging to the Modernisation period, the transition from
Modernisation to Neoliberalism, and the Neoliberal period.
In terms of the citys growth, Crdobas urban history has three significant phases, which
are associated with the national development policies:
-The modernization strategy was based on the concept that social development would be
achieved through the transition from an agricultural to an industrial society. It was thought that
through the expansion of the industrial sector identified as the leading dynamic sector, income
and employment opportunities would expand and living conditions would improve (as has
happened in developed countries). Within Modernism, planning and development was to be
based on efficient large scale and technologically rational urban projects. Urban policy was to
enhance urban growth and the conformation of large cities since these were seen as essential
conditions for the development of industrialization (Carmona, Burgess 2001:11).
The import substitution process that began in the 1940s transformed Crdoba into an
industrial city with a diversified manufacturing sector, producing automobiles, planes, trains, auto
parts, engineering products, chemical products, food products, textiles, and building materials.
Within a national development policy, the province guaranteed the generation of electrical energy
and sufficient water capacity so as to consolidate Crdoba as an industrial and service centre. The
first plans to regulate urban growth were formulated to respond to growth experienced during the
import substitution period when the metal-mechanics industry and ruralurban migration caused
extension and dispersion of the urban form. The spatial strategy in that moment was based on the
theory of growth via concentric rings, as according to the process of land-occupation. The main
roadway system was to be structured on the basis of successive ring displacements, from the
central area to the periphery (Plan Regulador del arq. Ernesto La Padula).
- During the second half of the 1970s, significant conceptual changes were introduced
that served to support the Master Plan of urban development- a new focus based on economic,
social and political factors that emphasized the radial-centric characteristics of city expansion, as
well as the role of growth corridors as according to internal and external tensions-.
Urban diagnostic studies developed in 1973 proposed different alternatives for the citys
future development, the intention being the substantial transformation of growth tendencies. At
that moment, planning exemplified tendencies commonly utilized in developing countries. As
Burgess, Carmona and Kolstee (1997:111) mention, it was based on strong regulatory
intervention to control, to direct and to rationalize growth, by means of plans that attempted to
regulate land use, the location of activities, infrastructure and transportation systems.
An attempt was made to control expansion through planning by means of zoning
regulations and land divisions according to infrastructure availability-, however, in most cases
regulations were ignored leading to plot divisions without adequate analysis in terms of
rationality. Proposed theoretical alternatives2 to guide urban growth were evaluated based on the
agreement to preserve a rational use of infrastructure, and also based on the differential impacts
they could have in terms of the costs of infrastructure extension. The objective of these studies
was to provide a general analytic framework that could be used to evaluate the comparative
advantages of extending the city in one way or another.3 In terms of spatial growth, the specific
land policy goal was to control the extension of growth remaining from the previous period,
 5

although in this phase there was a context of less stringent controls on land annexations and
squatting acceptance in the city periphery, based on progress development principles.
-With the democratic period that began in 1983, the local government prompted new
urban studies to overcome the weaknesses of the growth model. In general terms the idea was to
sanction a regulatory framework that would replace the partial approaches and particular
instruments that had been applied up until this moment. The new diagnostic more precisely
identified the weaknesses of the urban structure, including: urban extension into areas with no
availability of infrastructure; excessive concentration of services and facilities in the central area;
urbanization with low population density in the periphery; the dispersal of the urban formation;
lack of public facilities and equipment in the peripheral area, among other conditions. Leading
concerns were the sustainability of urban growth, the reasonable planning of public facilities and
services (i.e. public transport), as well as the rational layout of infrastructure and roadway
movements.

4. IMPACT OF GLOBALISATION (1200 words)

During the 90s, Argentina was one of the countries with the most favourable prospectives for
foreign investment. As ECLAC (2001:17.60) mentions, the privatization of state assets, economic
convertibility or dollarization (to control the inflationary process from previous decades, one
dollar is equal to one Argentinean peso), and commercial integration with Brazil (in the
framework of Mercosur) offered a fertile scenario to attract foreign capital. The context of
economic and political reforms facilitated the performance of international companies in several
fields that had, until that moment, been in hands of the State. Transnational corporations in
Argentina focused on services and infrastructure provision; the privatization of public services
such as telecommunications and electricity, state oil companies, water, commerce and financial
services, opened a variety of different economic activities to foreign capital. Economic
transformations found expression and impacted on the city, as for example, in the expansion and
modernization of services and communications infrastructure, as well as new real estate ventures
and corporate buildings.
One of the most significant features of the process of global economic restructuring was
the increasing gap in growth, and rhythms of growth, between rural areas and cities. In
Argentinas case, the gap was even more remarkable when comparing foreign direct investments,
where huge divergence in terms of the concentration of foreign capital was expressed between
the countrys capital city Buenos Aires- and other cities. For example, in 1990-2000, 35% of
the countrys inhabitants and 59.8% of total direct private investment (national and foreign) was
concentrated in the metropolitan region of Buenos Aires, thus accentuating the primacy of this
city in the national urban system.
In the Province of Crdoba, private investment was significantly smaller; even when it
was ranked second, private investment in this province represented only 11.9% of the total
private investment in the country. The traditional role of the city within the national urban system
was transformed thanks to increasing interchange flows within MERCOSUR, which implied the
improvement of infrastructure, roadway networks, and regional mobility. Infrastructure
upgrading included interventions on different scales, among which the most significant were
focused on privatization, the concession of services, and the expansion of the telecommunications
sector. Within the move to privatize and improve services, significant improvements were made
to services such as telephone, television, gas, data and sign transmission, drinking water, etc. In a
 6

period of economic dynamism, privatized service companies carried out important investments
that improved the citys competitiveness.
The effects of macroeconomic forces in Crdoba are associated with private investment
flows that took place during this period. A favourable context and economic opening to foreign
investment introduced transformations and city restructuring. The principal aim of urban
development policies and public investments carried out by the Municipality were to improve
urban productivity and city competitiveness.
In terms of spatial structure, until the nineties Crdoba was a monocentric city structured
through radial connections. Identifiable main elements of this structure included the central core,
the corridors (where secondary and tertiary activities tended to decentralize towards inner city
areas), and a mono-functional residential periphery. As a result of major investments by foreign
companies, by the end of the decade the city tended to form a polycentric urban structure.
The development of large urban real estate projects that focused on commercial, retail,
cultural and residential activities brought a new character to the urban periphery, transforming the
functional dynamic into a process of urban decentralization and re-centralization. The emergence
of new centralities in the city periphery contributed to the decentralization of urban functions.
Increased car ownership and the improvement of urban connectivity impacted commercial
developments and gated communities, which contributed to the development of an expansive and
diffuse growth pattern. The modernization of the CBD that took place as a result of the new
establishment of both foreign corporation and bank headquarters, as well as multifamily
buildings, took place simultaneously with the expansion of new centralities on main roadway
corridors. It seemed that a new complex relation between the multifaceted central areas, and a
periphery with multiple centers with generalized mobility, would come to represent the
conditions of urban structure during a globalization period that was directed by the dominance of
international services and financial capital.4
In social terms, the consolidation of economic recovery after the crisis in December
5
2001 -the most critical crisis in the countrys history- resulted in the redefinition of the middle
class. It is worth noting that the unemployment rate descended from 14.7 in the third trimester of
2003, to 10.4 in the last trimester of 2006. The redefinition of the Argentine middle class had
already begun to take shape as a consequence of the structural adjustment policies and opening of
the economy during the nineties. Following the so-called lost decade of the eighties, the 90s
revealed the highest levels of social polarization and unemployment, a rise in the population
living under the poverty line, and the decline of middle income sectors into a category called the
new poor .6 The subsequent recovery was marked by a redefinition of this population group.
The symbolic consumption behaviours and life standards, as well as values and social capital of
these new poor were constructed in way that was very different from the new socioeconomic
situation that faced them. Although part of the middle sector restored consumption habits, others
were unable to meet the costs of a typical consumer basket for this social sector.7
In terms of poverty, the indicators show a decrease in the rates which during the first
trimester of 2003 reached 43% of all homes in the Greater Crdoba urban sprawl, a rate that
subsequently lowered in the second trimester of 2006 to 22.2% of all homes. The number of
indigent homes was reduced from 19.9 to 11.6 during the same time period.8 It is important to
mention the impact of focused policies implemented in the city since 2001, specifically in terms
of public housing policies that provided for the construction of 12,000 housing units,
accompanied by the provision of urban facilities in neighbourhood-cities situated in the
periphery. Despite the fact that the these policies represent an improvement in quality of life for
populations living in extreme poverty, the effects in terms of segregation and socioeconomic
sustainability continue to be the subject of debate.
 7

5. STRATEGIC PLANNING AND URBAN PROJECTS (1200 words)

In 1994, the municipal government began to promote a Strategic Plan (Plan Estratgico
PEC) 9 that took new participative planning methodologies into account and looked to overcome
the weaknesses of the territorial structure. Among the weaknesses mentioned, were: the marked
centrality of the city, with an extensive and poorly linked periphery that generates conflicts in
terms of functional dynamics; the excessive concentration of activities in the central area of the
city; a rise in urban costs as a result of a growth in its extension, thus reinforcing social
segregation and territorial imbalances; the absence of policies for the improvement of urban
efficiency; the need to situate Crdoba as a competitive city; and, a lack of coordination in
relation to activities developed by urban institutions.
According to local authorities a successful Strategic Plan would seek to modernize
administration, advance the decentralization of functions, and generate participative processes
that promote new forms of active citizenship. As an instrument its objective is to strengthen
urban capacities and opportunities, and to this end establish new priorities and methodologies that
emerge from new planning consensuses that demand strong political will.
The proposals were developed in the context of structural adjustment policies, state
reforms oriented at decentralization, and the privatization process.

Urban strategies promoted in the framework of the PEC

From 1994 to 1999, the citys Strategic Plan was established as a space for citizen participation
and debate, and resulted in the implementation of a number of significant projects. Four
dimensions were established in relation to the main lines of development:
- The territorial dimension: proposes a polycentric city strategy while at the same time
revaluing the founding city centre, with a strong accent on the expansion and management of
infrastructure that improves urban efficiency and productivity.
- The economic dimension: looks to improve competitiveness, diversify the economic fabric,
and attract new activities.
- The environmental dimension: seeks to deal with the effects of contamination, preserve
resources, and modify societys norms of conduct.
- The social dimension: prioritizes the use of integral policies to assist sectors with unsatisfied
basic needs (UBN).10

The most important projects that were developed in this period improved infrastructure and urban
services. These projects included:

1- The improvement of regional accessibility and Urban connectivity

Improvements in accessibility and urban connectivity included different types of roadway
projects, with interventions of different scales.
On the regional-metropolitan scale, city access networks were created (9 access corridors
and a bypass avenue). The contracting company made the investments, and complementary road
works were built with municipal funds.
On the urban scale, functional characteristics of the network were optimized, looking to
adapt the road layout to the polycentric city model, and structure intermediate and peripheral
areas in a radial-centric system. Roadway construction was achieved with municipal funds. This
included the widening and opening up of roads, the construction of 16 bridges, 2 exit ramps, the
 8

partial laying of an internal bypass (26km ring road), the extension of the riverside drive (7kms
on the rivers margins), the systematization of the La Caada waterway (3.8 km), and the
construction of a network of bike pathways. To complement these road works, important
investments were made into the provision storm-water drains (more than 37 storm drains), studies
conducted on general transit plans, and the regulatory reformulation of the roadway system11.
Other complementary interventions included the opening of green space, forestation, low-income
housing, etc.

2- Administrative decentralization
Community participation centres, where administrative and cultural functions are carried
out, were built in the principal corridors of the city, leaving the question of the budgeting and
decision-making autonomy still pending for a real government decentralization policy. The
centers have a covered floor space between 2,400 to 2,800 m2 and were constructed with
municipal funds. The estimated total investment was $ 15, 700,000. 12
Towards the end of the 1991-1999 timeframe, the municipality promoted the formulation
of two new urban projects, and although they did not actually materialize, they did provoke
public and private institution participation in relation to urban management and interventions in
urban space:

3- Teleport Project
A strategic project to position the city of Crdoba in the context of the Network of
MERCOSUR cities, offering high-level technological infrastructure for companies, and
generating a businesses district specialized in telecommunications infrastructure. This project
promoted the renewal of an area adjacent to the historical and financial centre of the city (40
hectares), which defined it as a mixed use program that included: urban rehabilitation and
densification.

4- Program for the integral development of the Southeast area (PRODIAF - Ferreyra)
This program sought to resolve urban conflicts that were product of the friction between
the location of the citys most important automotive plants, and formal and informal residential
settlements that were facing a deficiency of infrastructure and basic services. The dichotomies
become visible when you observe that 33% of the total surface area was destined for industrial
use, and 11.71% of the areas population were unable to meet their basic needs, a number that
increases when inhabitants in shantytown settlements are included.13
To summarize, a conclusion might be drawn that strategic planning in this stage promoted
public investments in aims of attracting private investors, an objective that has partially been
reached in the current period.
With the 2001 crisis in Argentina, we begin to see a glimpse of new priorities in the urban
scene, and the social question returning as a priority. Nevertheless, no show of effective answers
has been seen in the 2000-2003 period.
Towards the end of 2003, and in the framework of the governments new administration
term that sought to build a strong political leadership within the administrative office, the
Strategic Plan of Crdoba (PECba) was re-launched. Given the strong political will to recover
lands for citizen participation, and within the framework of a more favourable and promising
socioeconomic situation, the PECba was once again promoted in aims of improving peoples
quality of life, while at the same time developing an alternate method of city management. As
before, the intention is that the Plan be converted into a more permanent state policy at the local
level. 14
 9

Within this framework, 3 (three) lines of action were implemented that were directed at
development planning, not overlooking situations needing immediate attention or with sufficient
consensus to initiate them immediately in articulation with the plans overall lines of action:

1. Emergency response: PECba Forums.

2. Strategic Actions: Urban Project - Portal del Abasto; City Sanitation; Urban regulations.
3. Development Planning- 2003 2009:
- Global scale planning of the City.
- Intermediate-scale planning (Zone Programs and Urban Projects) with interventions in
three zones: the Center, Alta Crdoba and Argello.
- Neighbourhood planning (Participatory Budget) that included the carrying out of 40
experiences in different City neighbourhoods.

It is important to not overlook the existing urban fragmentation, or review the impact and
externalities of the new centralities promoted in the city. Likewise, a critical perspective must be
adopted, accompanied by proposals that allow for advancements in the reconstruction of both the
physical and social fabric. This calls for integral action that contemplates both neglected urban
territories and neglected social sectors. It seems that public policies aimed at social equity are not
alone enough to recognize that the so-called trickle-down effect that was expected of private
investments did not occur, and inequality grew between rich and poor.
The mega real estate development that is so forth presented, the Liberty Business Centre
(Hiper-centro Libertad), perhaps is a good example to demonstrate the tensions, achievements
and weaknesses of the different urban actors that intervene in the establishment of the new urban
centralities.

6. LARGE URBAN PROJECT

GRAN PROYECTO URBANO

HIPER - CENTRO LIBERTAD / LIBERTY HYPERCENTRE.
(Proyecto Dinosaurio- Dinosurio Project)

The Liberty Hypercentre (Hiper-Centro Libertad) real estate development is an important

example of urban renovation that began with the installation of a hyper-market, an international
hotel, and later continued with the construction of a covered stadium, a commercial and
recreational mall, and a series of apartment towers. It took shape through a series of linked
interventions that began in 1994 with the construction a hyper-market, and that was partially
finalized towards the end of 2001 with the opening a sector of apartment towers. The project was
developed exclusively by a private investor, owner of property of interest. The property has an
overall surface area of 31.86 hectares (hyper-market and hotel, 13.45 h.; stadium, 2.42 h.;
commercial mall, 9.12 h.; and the apartment tower sector, 6.87 hectares).
Although it proves difficult to estimate the overall investment in the mega-centre, and
given there was no access to information on the hotel, it is estimated that an approximate 21
million pesos were invested in sector A (hyper-market), and an approximate 54 million pesos in
sector B (tower, stadium, and mall).15 It is important to mention that to date 50% of the mall has
been built and 4 of the projected 20 towers.

Background
 10

Within a country-wide context of economic expansion in the early 90s, large commercial
undertakings supported by private investment (national and foreign) began to emerge in the city
of Crdoba. Up until this moment the modality of marketing focused on small surface size chains
that were distributed to satisfy demands of neighbourhoods- principally through supermarkets-,
thus leading the concentration of commercial offerings in the citys central area. In the last
decade this commercial modality gave way to a new modality based on the opening of large
surface area sales centres that compete in the urban territory by opening new outlets in what is
seen as a permeable context and, until that moment, scarcely regulated.
This situation added a new dimension to urbanistic issues. This is particularly true for a
city like Crdoba that is situated in the countrys interior, and which has per-zone regulations, a
radial-centric growth model with an overcrowded central area as a result of its condition as a
main access road, as well as great commercial and building densification. The urban structuring
model entered into crisis given the impossibility to adequately resolve the entry and permanence
of a great quantity of users in the central area and the excessive concentration of functions in the
same central area. In the framework of these tensions, the local government promoted a strategy
to decentralize the urban structure, which coincided with the insertion of medium-sized
commercial structures in vacant areas in intermediary locations, and subsequent to this, the
construction of large hyper-market chains supported by private initiatives in the periphery.
[Photo 15 (important Centres in the urban structure)]
In terms of regulatory aspects, new instruments were introduced to regulate the locations
of mega commercial centres as according to the proposed sales structures size; the aim of this
method was to preserve the vitality of the central area within a framework of an initial
decentralization process under way. Municipal policies did not oppose the location of these types
of commercial interventions in the periphery, provided that land availability, good urban-regional
access (via road corridors), the ease of parking, and the distance relative to the central area were
all taken into account. It is important to mention that mega commercial developments a by-
product of capital accumulation and concentration policies- have ambivalent effects, not only in
terms of how they effect the local economic fabric, but in respect to the urban impact they have
as a result of where they are located and the tensions (related to centralization-decentralization)
they introduce into the urban dynamic.

The mega-projects intervention area

At the beginning of the 90s, the sector where the Project was located (towards the north of the
city) had mixed characteristics, combining extensive low-density residential areas comprised of
single family home neighbourhoods, with large areas allocated for industrial use that were
established in the area due to the proximity to cargo rail transport providing them with raw
materials.
The sector is very well linked by corridors to the larger province, the region and different
areas of the city, as well as to the central city area. Furthermore, the area has easy access to air
transport given its proximity to the international airport.16

[Location Plan Business Centre (Hiper-centro).gpg /tiff]

[Photo 16 (Aerial View)]
Since 1995 this urban sector restructured its appearance by housing a series of large scale
constructions that, according to new regulations, were designated as Hypercentres. The projects
emerged in the framework of a Provincial policy- supported by the local government- that
favoured the positioning of investments within the city through the use of tax exemptions. Taking
 11

advantage of the synergy of these developments (Hyper-market and Hotel), this same group of
private investors proposed other projects in adjacent zones, which by the end of the 90s
constituted a notable pole of development on the urban-regional scale.
The intervention Project took advantage of the areas potential in terms of accessibility
and advantages derived from the high and mid-to-high socio-economic environment where it was
established.17
[Photo 17 (General plan)]

Intervention Program

Sector A
[Photo 20 Photo 21]
Sector A is composed of a Hyper-market (1) with a sales surface area of 26, 145 m2, a Parking
lot (2) with a capacity for 4,000 vehicles, and a five star International Hotel (4) (See Photo 20-
21). Subsequently, and given the huge commercial success of this first cluster of interventions,
the commercial area was extended (3). According to the planners, the extension of the complex
was made possible thanks to the varied commercial offerings and the ease of movement in and
out of the area, thus establishing the complex as the most important in the countrys interior. The
renewed number of vehicles registered in parking lots serves as supporting data, which on key
days rose to 1,000 vehicles per hour and an estimated rate of vehicle flow equalling 15,000 cars
per day.

Sector B
[Photo 18 (Partial plan of Sector B)]
Sector B integrates three different projects into one property;
-A covered stadium, [Photo 22]
-A recreational-commercial complex
-Apartment towers [Photos 23,24,25]
The surface area plan is as follows:

Property Surface Area Covered Structural Surface

Area
Covered Stadium 23,820 m2 8,500 m2

Recreational-commercial 105,408 m2 40,340 m2

Complex
(Commercial area) (17,340 m2)
Open space 20.000 m2 ----
Apartment towers 60.000 m2 127.750 m2

Given the installation of both removable seats and assembly and staging technology, it
was anticipated that the covered stadium would host a variety of different shows and events
(sporting and cultural). It has a seating capacity for 6,000 spectators and parking facilities for
1,500 vehicles. This property is linked to the commercial centre by means of a pedestrian bridge,
a design decision aimed at compensating for the lack of parking facilities within the stadium
property by sharing the parking capacity of the commercial centre across the street. Furthermore,
 12

the bridge extends the pedestrian path that provides access to different recreational activities and
commercial functions.
The recreational Commercial Complex includes: a Movie Theatre with 8 viewing rooms,
an Amusement Arcade with rides and arcade games, Gastronomic shops, Fast Food - Food Court,
Specialty Stores, Thematic Bars, and a Commercial Gallery. The parking facilities are located on
the perimeter street (35,000 m2 on the main floor) and underground (35,000 m2 underground).
The public use zones (located at the front) are clearly differentiated from the service zones and
merchandise loading zones by an interior corridor used exclusively for cargo transport. Fifteen
percent of the land is reserved for green forested spaces.
The 20 apartment towers are divided into 5 clusters, thus facilitating construction by
phases. Each cluster is comprised of 4 twelve-floor (36m high) free-perimeter towers on a 20 x
20 m floor plan. Four apartments are located on each floor, and parking is located underground.
The combined total covered surface area of the 20 towers is 127,750 m, with a parking capacity
for 880 vehicles. Only one of 4-tower clusters has been opened to date. Each sector of the
complex autonomously resolves the question of automobile circulation and provides its own
solution for excessive storm waters.
[Photo 19 (Apartment Cluster Plans)]

The Urban Impacts of the Intervention

This large urban project that was developed over the last decade in Crdoba is of interest
not only due to its size, but also because the mega-complex was developed entirely with private
investment funds. This is to say that the private company built the buildings, and assumed
responsibility for 100% of the adaptation-expansion and/or replacement costs of the existing
infrastructure networks on the intervention property in accordance with new demands (electric
installation, natural gas, sewage system, storm drains, road widening, and public fencing).
However, while this aspect can be evaluated positively given that costs and benefits
were assumed privately-, the effects of this type of urban project must be analyzed not only in
relation to the intervention site, but also in respect to the wider sector directly or indirectly
affected by the introduction of a large scale project. In this regard, there is certain infrastructure
that requires significant investment, and that the Municipality should be exclusively responsible
for its installation. Two infrastructure developments associated with the introduction of this
project are of particular interest: storm drains and vehicle access. Likewise, it is also of interest to
offer some reflections on the Projects impacts and how they relate to the policies guiding the
management and installation of urban infrastructures in the short and mid term.
In regards to the storm drains, the extensive impermeable surface area of the hyper-market
required the installation of additional technical solutions, given the insufficiency of storm drains
in this urban sector (currently 1500 mm). The problem was resolved only in the intervention
sector, however not in the areas neighbourhood sector. Compounding the problem is the increase
in water volume, which is the product of new and large interventions, and that is continually
underestimated. The solution would require large-scale public investments and a vision of the
problem that incorporates the management of storm waters in the immediate metropolitan area.
The sector has been severely affected; streets have converted into rivers, houses have flooded,
and as a result, a high value residential area has been negatively impacted.
In the case of road accessibility, after the Project had been installed a very conflictive
situation presented itself as a result of the impact of traffic affecting the entire intervention sector,
and also due to the accessibility conditions determined by the rail routes. Private investors
developed a roundabout to temporarily solve accessibility to the property until such time that a
 13

definitive solution is reached by the municipality, which would consist of large scale road works
linking the different road corridors. In order for road infrastructure improvements to meet the
requirements of the urban sector in this area, and considering the impacts of this Project, 8 road
junctions must be built to improve traffic flow (connections with the airport, access to the
northern zone of the city, connections with the micro-region, neighbourhood movement flows,
among other links), which should be publicly funded.
Neighbourhood appearance, traffic, and attraction to this urban sector were notably
increased by the offering of commercial and recreational space. Perhaps the most significant
aspect of the negotiation process between private investors and the municipality are revealed
when we analyze the question of how much public space should be preserved in a large scale
urban operation, as in this case.
At first, and in compliance with regulations for urbanization18, the municipality developed
a project for the establishment of an urban park, identifying the following possible intervention
scenarios:
- Scenario 1: Property owners give certain parcels of land to the Municipality in order to
establish an urban park and to widen Rodrguez del Busto Avenue, and the Muncipality
modifies regulations for the remaining parcels and solves accessibility to the site.
- Scenario 2: Expropriation for public use of some parcels in order to establish the park.
- Scenario 3: Agreement with property owners to open and maintain the current grove for
public use and in exchange, property owners would receive some municipal tax benefit.

As it turns out, none of the three scenarios were fulfilled and the urban park did not
materialize.
Changes related to the occupation and use of land (from industrial to mixed residential-
commercial) were approved during a different government administration (1999-2003), which
was less dedicated to the defence of public space. In the face pressure form private investors and
the surrender of public space, this administration only took responsibility for the widening of the
avenues that provides access to the complex. Thus, even when the objective of regulations are to
minimize speculative land use processes, their application remains subject to the criteria of the
municipal executive and leaders of the day, who much of the time prioritize government
administration imperatives over urban planning objectives.

FINAL REFLECTIONS

Towards the end of 2006, and in the framework of the re-launching of the Crdoba Strategic Plan
(PECba), new urban studies19 were incorporated that tended to establish a degree of
competitiveness in the city and served as a point of departure for the design of concrete projects
that would strengthen the city. In light of social and spatial transformations, the following
questions were posed: Is Crdoba an attractive city for investments? What are the key factors
that competitively position local companies, or, on the contrary, that make their insertion in the
global scene difficult?
The results20 show that Crdoba is better situated than other cities in the country in terms
of innovation and availability of information and communication technology and human capital
(considering the populations total years of study), although at the same time it shows low
productivity of local workers (low salaries as compared to other Argentina cities). In terms of
quality of life, Crdoba rates higher than Greater Buenos Aires and Mendoza, however lower
than Rosario and the city of Buenos Aires. Crdoba is situated in this position due to its good
cultural infrastructure and low performance in terms of its social situation.
 14

In terms of urban infrastructure Crdoba has a good supply of electricity, water and gas,
and is more reduced in terms of its paved roadway network and the provision of sewage systems
and urban transport. Limited access to financing is another aspect that negatively impacts urban
competitiveness.
This article sought to shed light in a synthetic manner on the current situation in the city
of Crdoba, through the incorporation of statistical data that fundamentally provides a social,
population, and economic snapshot. Likewise, a succinct review of urbanization processes in
Crdoba was provided, at the end of which examples were given of large urban projects and new
centralities that are reproduced, in an almost Taylorian manner, as an expression of the dominant
proposal model that is understood as urban development the world over. Large urban projects,
a response and challenge to pragmatic modernization. Mega-projects promoted by private
investment are an indicator of the forces that meld in Crdoba, and are understood as expressions
of the concepts and practices of the new consensus on urban management.
Undoubtedly, the 2001 crisis in Argentina, along with social deterioration, sat minimum
raised questions about the development model here exemplified. In so far as the gap between rich
and poor continues to increase or be maintained, and as long as we remain unable to diminish
social polarization, the priority assigned to investment projects as possibilities for the
development and improved sustainability of well-balanced urban growth is also put into check.
From the urban management perspective, the future path is complex. Framed by the
governments political will, the outstanding challenges are not only political in nature, but also
intersect with economic, financial and social questions, thus implicating all of these aspects in the
urban form, a citys democratic governance, and physical-spatial organization.
How do we balance the interest of local corporations with the pressing demands to
improve quality of life for the most neglected sectors? How do we incorporate socio-economic
factors that are the consequence of a polarized society into city planning, and develop proposals
that reflect the diversity of actors, and formulate a complex solution that has until now had a
strong formal inclination? Are more uncompromising local development responses the answer to
more pressing demands?
Free market policies have not met their expectations. Although agendas for fiscal balance
have improved and inflation rates have fallen, better and sustained growth is a promise the model
has yet to keep. (Cagatay, 2003).
The current situation calls for a combination of strategies and the prioritization of state
resources in order to reduce one of the highest existing social and economic gaps in the world,
requiring territorial planning that slows and transforms growing urban fragmentation, towards a
greater commitment to seek out equitable and sustainable development.

Bibliography

Arquitextos 81 (2002) Revista del Colegio de arquitectos de Crdoba. Complejo Habitacional

Parque Milnica
Cuadernos de la Reforma Estado (1994). "Crdoba en Cifras". Serie Informacin. Gobierno de
Crdoba. Ministerio de Coordinacin, subsecretaria del la Funcin Pblica. Imprima
Boletn Oficial.
CEPAL, Panorama Social de Amrica Latina 2001-2002
Catary, (2003) Reduccin de la pobreza, Gobernabilidad democrtica y equidad de genero,
Tomo I, Responsable Marion Bihler, Coordinadora GTZ. Proyecto Promocin de
Polticas de Genero. ISBN 99924-0-255-5. primera edicin, Managua. 2003.
Delich, F. (1994). "La Idea de Ciudad". La el Voz del Interior. 8 de Nov. de 1994. Crdoba.
 15

Estudio Bugliotti y asociados. (2000) Memoria descriptiva del proyecto. (mimeo) .

Fal,Ana (2004) Revisin Crtica de las Polticas Habitacionales y el Rol del Estado. De los 70
al 2000. En publicacin Procesos de Adopcin Tecnolgica para Viviendas, en el
marco de las Primeras Jornadas Tcnico Cientficas Interdisciplinarias, UNC, FAUD.
Fal, Ana. (2000). Local and Global: The New Paradigm of the Postmodern City. En:
Globalization, Urban Form and Governance. Research Atelier ALFA-IBIS. Edit.: M.
Carmona, Drewe, Rosemann & van Duin. Delft University Press. Pp. 141-154. Holanda.
Copyright 2000.
Foglia, M.E. (1998) "Reflexiones en los Procesos Histricos de Ocupacin del Territorio. Teoras
y Modelos", en Cuadernos de Estudio del la Maestra de Desarrollo Urbano. FAUD.
UNC.
Herzer, Hilda Martha (1992). "Gestin Urbana en Ciudades Medianas Seleccionadas de Amrica
Latina. El caso de la Ciudad de Crdoba", Argentina. Feb. 1992 Centro, Buenos Aires.
Mimeo 58p.
Iros, Guillermo (1991). "Desarrollo Urbano: Reflexiones y Acciones". Editorial Municipalidad de
Crdoba.
Municipalidad de Crdoba (1995). "Plan el Estratgico para la Ciudad". PEC Crdoba.
Argentina. (Documento de difusin, sin fecha de edicin) (vea bajo cada grfico o datos la
fuente especfica)
Municipalidad de Crdoba (1999) Crdoba, Ciudad en desarrollo. Planes proyectos y obras de
la Secretara de Desarrollo Urbano. Ed. Municipalidad de Crdoba
Municipalidad de Crdoba (1999) PEC, una nueva forma de gestionar la ciudad. Ed.
Municipalidad de Crdoba. Subsecretara de Planificacin estratgica y desarrollo
econmico.
Munipalidad de Crdoba (1999) Direccin de Planeamiento Urbano. Propuesta del Parque del
Poeta.
Propuesta Urbana No 12 Agosto (1999) Centros de discusin. Crdoba
Propuesta Urbana. N0 30 Mayo (2001) Orfeo y Parque Milnica. Crdoba
Propuesta Urbana N0 29 Abril (2001) Complejo Dinosaurio, tres emprendimientos en uno
Crdoba
Zilocchi Gustavo, Bressan Juan C. Problemticas y tendencias locales y regionales de finales de
siglo. El caso de la provincia de Crdoba (mimeo)
www.Lavoz.com.ar 15 diciembre de 2006. En Crdoba hay 13.000 desocupados ms Seccin
economa.

Notes

1
During the dollarization period of Argentinas economy the budget rose to 400 million dollars a year.
2
Source: Municipalidad de Crdoba. Bases para un diagnstico [Municipality of Crdoba. Basis for a diagnosis]
(2000).
3
Ramos Jos, Anlisis de los costos de extensin de infraestructura en la ciudad de Crdoba [Analysis of
infrastructure extension in Crdoba City] (1977) (mimeo).
4
This section has been developed in the framework of the PhD research: Urban Sprawl and Planning: Confronting
the challenges in a context of social inequity. A case study in Crdoba Argentina. Cecilia Marengo, Advisor: Prof.
Dipling. Jrgen Rosemann. TU Delft.
5
According to the 2001 Census, the population with Unsatisfied Basic Needs (structural poor) rose to 155,319
inhabitants (12.9%), however if we consider the population below the poverty line, the total according to the second
semester data is 505,532 people (which means 39.35% of the population).
 16

EPH (2006) data shows that unemployment below 10.4% is significant considering the levels reached during the
2001 crisis that totalled 18% of the population.
The income distribution gives some idea about the scale of social dichotomies in the city: according to the
Permanent Survey of Home, the lowest portion of the population of the city (40%), receives only 16.3% of the
total income, while the top portion (20%) receives more than 48% of the total income.
6
In Argentina, new poor is assigned to the segment of the population under a prolonged process of
impoverishment that has resulted in low-mid incomes sectors slipping into a situation of poverty that, given
difficulties in the labour market, becomes a permanent state. This sector shares the same deprivations as the
structural poor, however not the same history. Alberto Minujin, En la Rodada [In a rut] in Minujin A. Beccaria,
Bustelo L. Feijoo M Cuesta Abajo. Los nuevos pobres: efectos de la crisis en la sociedad argentina. [The new poor:
effects of the crisis on Argentine society] Bs As. Ed. UNICEF Losada, 1992.
7
Estimated at $1,850 pesos (equivalent to $US 620).
8
Source: Observatorio Urbano de la Ciudad de Crdoba, en base a datos de la EPH INDEC [Croba City Urban
Observatory, EPH INDEC data base].
9
Municipalidad de Crdoba, Plan Estratgico para la Ciudad PEC. Publicado por la Municipalidad de Crdoba,
diciembre 1996. [Municipality of Crdoba, Strategic City Plan PEC. Published by the Municipality of Crdoba,
December 1996].
10
Source: Ibid. Pg. 60
11
Source. Catlogos de la Municipalidad de Crdoba y Balance del Plan Estratgico 1995-1998 [Municipality of
Crdoba Catalogues and the Strategic Plan Budget 1995-1998].
12
Source: Revista Propuesta Urbana [Urban Proposals Magazine] and information provided by the Municipality of
Crdoba.
13
Source: Prodiaf. Municipalidad de Crdoba [Municipality of Crdoba].
14
The plan was launched on November 11th, 2003 with the support of over 45 public and private institutions, and
1,000 citizens signed the City Manifest, which declared the principles and values on which the work would be
based. Municipality of Crdoba, 2003.
15
At the time this Projects implementation, the economic convertibility scheme was in effect in Argentina, where
one Argentina peso was equal to one American dollar. The overall price rose to 500 dollars per m2 (for the apartment
towers) and 800 dollars per m2 in the commercial mall.
16
Information drawn from the preliminary location proposal for the Parque del Poeta [Poets Park]. Direccin de
Planeamiento Urbano de la Municipalidad de Crdoba [Urban Planning Office of the Municipality of Crdoba].
1999. arq. Oscar A. Daz.
17
Source: Memoria de Descriptiva del Proyecto, Estudio Bugliotti y asociados. [Descriptive Project Report, Bugliotti
and associates].
18
Urban regulations require that private developers set aside 15% of the property surface area as public space in all
new urbanizations.
19
Studies carried out by the Facultad de Ciencias Econmicas de la Universidad Nacional de Crdoba [Faculty of
Economic Sciences at the National University of Crdoba], the IERAL at the Fundacin Mediterrnea
[Mediterranean Foundation], and the Instituto de Investigaciones de la Bolsa de Comercio de Crdoba [Research
Institute of the Crdoba Stock Exchange]. Published in the local newspaper La Voz del Interior, December 17th,
2006.
20
Published in the local newspaper La Voz del Interior, December 17th, 2006.