Urban Planning and State Reform

Abstract

This article explores how the relationship between the economic activities of urban elites and the national economy explain the historical changes on the land uses of the urban periphery. It traces the social and economic paths that led Buenos Aires from an industrial hub to a sprawling city that juxtaposes gated communities and informal settlements. After a brief review that places this research within the literature on gated communities, the organization of the article follows the chronology of Argentina's national governments from 1976 until 1999. The article links the changes in national industrialization policies with the allocation of land for the development of gated communities in Buenos Aires's suburbs. The article concludes with an assessment of the effects these spatial changes had on the suburban polity.