Connections, entanglement and socio-spatial configurations in the (re) production of inequalities in Latin American cities (1975-2010)
The objective of this research is to analyze the ways in which transnational connections are articulated, entanglement of scales and socio-spatial configurations in the processes of production and reproduction of inequality in Latin American cities since the mid 1970's to present, from analysis of available research on the subject in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico.
We believe that the city is an ideal place to reflect on the theoretical debates on global entanglements and social inequalities. The starting point is to recognize the city as an open system node in a network of flows and connections of multiple scales and variables that impact on the "socio-spatial configuration" of cities, (re) produce inequalities. The city as a setting where actors are intertwined, processes and different scales, and the city as the product of these entanglements that are changing dramatically in many cases, the extent, composition and dynamics of urban space transformations referred with terms as diverse as duality, fragmentation, segregation, marginalization and even exclusion.
In the specific case of Latin America since the mid 1970's certainly contradictory and ambivalent processes such as globalization, neoliberalism and democratization, each with its own temporalities and significant changes in each country, are changing both the place of Cities in society and socio-spatial configurations of each of the cities. Moreover, in this context the cities gained new prominence, often through alliances between local governments, transnational corporations, supranational agencies and sectors of civil society, among other agents, develop various strategies to attract investment, global flows and locally set strengthen its position in the market for urban powers. What kind of transnational connections have been developed in Latin American cities in recent decades? Who have been and are their agents? And what kind of impact they have had in the cities, in their configurations and urban social relations?