Public space and collective action: Analysis of the processes of dispute for the improvement of the habitat in two peripheral neighbourhoods of the City of la Plata

Abstract

This article presents the relevance that urban public space acquired in relation to two collective actions, in the dispute over habitat improvement in peripheral sectors of the city of La Plata. One in San Carlos, after the flood of April 2, 2013; and the other, in Los Hornos, due to the drop in energy supply in 2016. Both events acted as triggers that modified the uses and appropriations of public space by the inhabitants of each neighborhood. Due to the critical conditions of the popular habitat, due to the deterioration of infrastructure, such as social and housing equipment, urban public space was used by neighbors and social organizations to hold assemblies. In both cases, the demands made generated processes of organization and active participation in decision making, which led us to ask ourselves how symbolic and material links are established with a given urban space, and what importance they acquire in neighborhood organization. We also investigated their impact on citizen participation, as well as whether these practices persist over time or whether they disappear once the conflict has passed.