Urban Development in Latin-America (1976–1990)

My work is at the intersection of Human Geography and industrial Sociology in developed and developing countries (France and Latin America). Starting with the classical urban approach of the relationship of industry and urbanization, I gradually specialized in land tenure issues, a key concern in latino-american cities.

The traditional assumption that industry is the primary influence in urban development was tested in the iron and steel industries in Argentina and in the new town of Ciudad Guayana in Venezuela. A project of the Harvard-MIT Joint Center for Urban Studies, Ciudad Guayana has become the worldwide example of a planned city. [Link to video] The impact of industry on growth by itself was insufficient to explain the dynamics of urbanization in this town. Illegal and “gray” processes, such as second-hand building materials, unpaid labor, and even self-built homes all played roles in Ciudad Guayana’s development. The more powerful framework of land tenure was adopted to explain what was occurring.

Since this time, my work has focused on land policies and social practice:  transfer of land use rights, changes in use allocation (rural/urban land), sub-divisions, registration, infrastructure and planning, construction, land use. This has generated ongoing and anticipated study of water/land interactions.

An extract from the film by Arijon/Schneier, France Arte 1996

Partners

FRANCE: CNRS (CREDAL) Université Paris 3.
VENEZUELA: CENDES, Universidad Central de Venezuela.