Ethnography applied to the study of collective strategies as a model for the identification and treatment of socio -environmental problems (Villa Argüello, Berisso, AMBA)

Abstract

This presentation gives an account, from an ethnographic perspective, of collective organization processes in vulnerable neighborhoods for the resolution of environmental conflicts and their consideration as components of local heritage. The research is carried out in the Villa Argüello neighborhood (Berisso, AMBA) - within the framework of the development of a thesis and doctoral scholarship plan - however it also includes the consideration of other neighborhoods in the region, which will be part of future stages of the job.

We start from the premise that, beyond cities and communities with long cultural traditions, it is possible to recognize in popular neighborhoods forms of collective organization that can be the object of study as heritage.

Through the application of mixed methods, secondary sources and data from semi-structured interviews and systematic observations were analyzed; mapping and bibliographic review on the origin and formation of the neighborhood. Thus, the collective organization processes that are launched to address the socio-environmental problems identified by different actors were characterized. These include knowledge, practices, knowledge, representations, which are recognized and transmitted in and between generations.

The development aims to provide a model to understand how collective organization operates to resolve socio-environmental problems in the context of a popular neighborhood that can be replicated in other contexts that are considered appropriate. The ethnographic approach in general, and the development presented in particular, allow knowledge to be mobilized between academic, political and social sectors, and thus put local conceptualizations and official policies in dialogue for the generation or reformulation of public policies with a situated nature.