A metropolitan territory and a metropolitan river: Buenos Aires and the Paraná

Abstract

In this article, we study the relationship between fluvial and urban dimensions from a regional approach, covering the metropolis of Buenos Aires and the Paraná River, in its lower section. The latter is a complex geographical object, at the same time a river, a coast, a delta, a "maritime highway" for overseas ships. This originality could explain the difficulty of representing and planning the Buenos Aires metropolis in articulation with its great natural environment. Therefore, we assume that it is a "not conceived space", taking up the Lefebvrian theory. To try to overcome this aporia, the article introduces the figure of "fluvial metropolis" and insists on the double environmental and operational dimension, united by the dimension of representation. This should help to integrate the Paraná into the reflections on metropolitan processes, creating a feeling of collective belonging and a territorial identity.