The production of territory in port cities of the globalized economy: Tensions and spatial injustices in the Metropolitan Area of Rosario, Argentina

Abstract

This paper analyzes the production of territory in two port cities dedicated to the export of agro-industrial products: San Lorenzo and Puerto General San Martín, located on the northern coast of the metropolitan area of Rosario, Province of Santa Fe. It examines the differential struggles of social actors for the appropriation and use of the territory, which result in interventions that benefit global corporate actors and facilitate the free circulation of capital. The research was based on a qualitative-quantitative methodology that made it possible to understand and analyze the different strategies used by the social actors involved, as well as the interactions among the global, national, and local scales. Results highlight the numerous affectations to local territories and the tendency to unequal distribution of urban services and externalities, due to priority granted to port and agro-industrial activities, which generates multiple situations of spatial injustice.