In the twentieth century globalization has had two effects on the urban development of Latin American communities:

First, massive migrations from the countryside to the city have produced some of the most complex urban centers in the world: Mexico City, Caracas, São Paolo, among others, are often used as examples of the urban structures generated by the combination of rapid development with social inequities. Latin America has the highest urban population worldwide; in Venezuela, for instance, 92 percent of the country's inhabitants are concentrated in urban centers. Not surprisingly, these metropolises do not fit any single preconceived pattern. Grouped under the rubric Latin American, we find various histories, dramatic variations in geography and climate, and a rich diversity of cultural traditions that persist despite globalization-as well as new customs that are constructed as a result of it.



© A. Brillembourg (CCSTT)


Second, a half-century of uneven development between the so-called countries of the North and South has resulted in a gradual but persistent exodus of Latin Americans in search of a better life. Today, Latin Americans can indeed claim certain cities or fragments of cities as their own: In New York, Hispanics account for 20 percent of the population, in Los Angeles for about 45 percent, in Miami they represent 65 percent. In London, Paris and Madrid, Hispanics constitute the majority in certain neighborhoods as well as whole segments of the labor force in certain service industries. These cities, or fragments of cities, have acquired marked differences, operating in a middle ground between the traditions of these immigrant groups and of the new context.

The conference will focus on these two conditions of Latin American urbanism in a globalizing context and treat them as if they were one. Scholars from the United States and abroad are invited to submit abstracts for papers on specific topics, using different cities, or a select group of cities, as case studies. This conference is a first step to question traditionally accepted academic views of the Latin American city and to move from learning about traditional cities to creative thinking about emerging urban models. The topics will include, but are not limited to the following:




© AULA

Urbanism Amidst the Remains of Modernism

Most Latin American cities had their heyday at the height of modernism. How does "modernity" persist as a model, and how is modern architecture and planning reinterpreted under current socio-economic conditions?

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The Informal City; The Embedded City

Some of the most powerful examples of Latin American urbanity have taken place without conventional city planning or governmental approval, and sometimes in spite of it. This is the case in Latin America and abroad, where embedded barrios challenge and transform conventional urban principles. What is the nature of these fragments of cities where improvisation takes command?




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The Urbanity of Social Inequity; Urbanity Under Extreme Socio-Political Context

The dramatic juxtaposition th at exists between poor and rich sections of the city in Latin America has generated urban patterns filled with contradictions. While in the United States and Europe class distinctions do not coexist, the differences are no less dramatic. What are the new forms of urbanity that emerge out of these contradictions? Political strife has only added salt to the wound. How have social instability and dramatic political changes affected the already oppressed urban conditions of cities like Havana, San Salvador and Medellin?




© AULA

Persistence of Cultural Patterns vs. The Emergence of New Ones

This panel will look into the global exchange of cultural practices and the ways these different ways of making space have become involved in the production of new local urban identities. How have North American and European urban models been transformed when adapted to the Latin American city? And how have fragments of North American and European cities changed as they become Latin American neighborhoods? Conversely, how have U.S. and European cities changed with the emergence and the renaissance of Latino cultures; how is this influenced by political rhetoric, tourism or fear?