Procesos de gentrificación y contragentrificación. Los mercados de Abasto y del Norte en el Gran San Miguel de Tucumán (noroeste Argentino)

Abstract

The influence of globalization-related dynamics such as the growing commodification of urban space and the emergence of new forms of real estate production has resulted in cities being transformed through new social and spatial mechanics. One of these forces is the rehabilitation and revaluation of deteriorated urban areas by means of a process known as gentrification, in which new territorial, political and economic expressions are configured. This process is also tied to struggles for the protection of the territory, which emerge as the other side of gentrification, namely counter-gentrification. This paper analyzes the characteristics of the socio-spatial changes in two markets located in Gran San Miguel de Tucuman (Northwestern Argentina) and whether these transformations fit within the category of gentrification. To do so, the different socio-spatial changes in these markets and their surroundings are identified through the analysis of changes in the use of land, the perspectives of social actors and the urban context that saw the emergence and development of these transformations. In this way, the objective of this research is accomplished and new knowledge related to the chronology of these events is produced; thus emerging as development phases within gentrification processes.