A look inside the struggle for housing in Buenos Aires,Argentina

Set in the broader context of increasing urban precarity and displacement of the urban poor and working classes, this paper examines the social and collective significance of housing precarity and eviction as it is experienced by Latin American, immigrant families living in informal hotels in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I analyze the internal dynamics, interactions and relationships between residents of informal hotels, the housing organization CIBA (Coordinadora de Inquilinos de Buenos Aires), which fights for housing rights for the poor in the city, and the city government sponsored housing subsidy. I argue that urban precarity severely limits opportunities for collective organization around better housing and political and social change. I show that despite CIBA’s objectives to transform social and political conditions for the poor in Buenos Aires, residents often operate under other assumptions and goals, in part because of the temporal and spatial restraints under which they live. Instead, residents of informal hotels work with CIBA in order to secure access to basic, urgent needs. These different expectations and understandings produce contentious relationships of dependence and subordination that are exacerbated by the eviction process and the city government housing subsidy.     

Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of Holocene coastal depositsfrom the Southeastern Buenos Aires Province, Argentina

An estuarine sequence outcropping at La Ballenera Creek (BuenosAires Province), dated between 6,800 and 4,100 ¹⁴C years BP, wasinvestigated for diatoms and molluscs. The sea level history along the BuenosAires coastline has been reconstructed from discrete beach ridge sequencesalong low-lying plains. The La Ballenera profile is located on a cliffcoast where a sequence recorded environmental changes. Fifty-eightdiatom species were grouped based on their salinity and life formcharacteristics. Cluster analysis allowed the division of the sequence intothree diatom zones. Mollusc tolerances were also used to discern theenvironmental changes induced by sea-level fluctuations. The base of thesequence recorded the initiation of the marine influence about6,790–6,200 years ago. Diatom assemblages consist ofbrackish-freshwater tychoplankton accompanied by brackish benthicdiatoms. Among the molluscs, the freshwater-brackish species Heleobiaparchappii dominates. Between 6,200 and ca. 4,800 ¹⁴C years BP, anestuarine lagoon environment is indicated by benthic and epiphyticmarine-brackish diatoms, as well as by the estuarine snail Heleobiaaustralis. After 4,800 ¹⁴C years BP, the diatom assemblages and therelative abundance of freshwater molluscs indicate a marshy environment withlower salinity content. The La Ballenera records the salinity changes thataffect an estuary that infilled during the 2,700 years after the maximum sealevel reached in mid-latitudes of South America.     

Recent pollen sedimentation in Los Padres pond,Buenos Aires Province,Argentina

This paper presents the results of a palynological study of surface sediments and two short cores from Los Padres pond, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The surface samples were taken from the center of the pond and from various near shore sites. Herbaceous taxa were abundant in the pollen spectra, representative of the surrounding steppe vegetation. Arboreal taxa represent cultivated trees located near the pond. Using multivariate analysis techniques, surface samples were divided into three groups: two of them reflect local conditions (high sand and organic matter concentrations) and are represented by local vegetation (Cyperaceae andMyriophyllum) and from the surrounding areas (Pinus, Plantago, Brassicaceae). The third group better represents the regional vegetation; it is characterized by grass steppe with shrubby communities found in the surrounding hilly areas. Pollen assemblages of two short cores were interpreted by analogy with the recent samples. The data provide information about the vegetational changes that have occurred since the first settlement, ca. 200 years ago. The presence of pollen types related to anthropogenic activities (Cupressus andEucalyptus) allowed the identification of different use of soils in the area. Historical evidence supports the conclusion.This is the third in a series of papers published in this issue on Paleolimnology in Southern South America. Dr. C. A. Fernández served as guest editor for these papers.     

Modern Diatom Assemblages in Surface Sediments from Estuarine Systemsin the Southeastern Buenos Aires Province, Argentina

Paleoecological reconstructions of Holocene sea-level changes in Argentinean coastal regions were based mainly on ecological data gathered from other regions, as there was a lack of information on modern estuarine diatom distributions. The aim of the present work was to assess the spatial variation of diatom assemblages in two representative estuaries of Argentina in order to gather ecological information for paleoecological reconstructions in the region. The two selected estuaries have different geomorphologic features and salinity regimes: Mar Chiquita Lagoon is shallow, which prevents the development of a stable salinity gradient as it occurs in the Quequén Grande River. Surface sediment samples were taken from selected stations representative of the environmental gradient from the inlet to the inner reaches of both estuaries. Cluster analysis defined three diatom zones at Mar Chiquita: marine/brackish assemblages dominate the inlet (zone I), where salinity, tidal range and current speed are higher. The brackish/freshwater tychoplankton Staurosira construens var. venter and Staurosirella pinnata dominate the inner lagoon (zone II), where environmental conditions are very variable and concentrations of suspended sediments are higher. Brackish/freshwater euryhaline diatoms dominate the headwaters (zone III). On the other hand, the Quequén Grande River was divided into three diatom zones: coastal taxa are distributed at the inlet (zone I), while the middle estuary (zone II) is dominated by brackish/freshwater euryhaline taxa. At the upper estuary region (zone III), freshwater diatoms dominate, and the halophobous Nitzschia denticula increased in abundance values. Diatom distributions were most closely related to the salinity gradient at Quequén Grande River than at Mar Chiquita Lagoon. Fossil data of a sequence from Mar Chiquita Lagoon (Las Gallinas Creek) were compared to the modern data set in order to search for analogies between fossil and modern diatom assemblages. DCA results showed that fossil diatom assemblages have modern counterparts. Most diatom assemblages of Las Gallinas Creek fall within Mar Chiquita zone III, representing a shallow brackish/freshwater environment, with low salinity fluctuations (~1–9‰) and no tidal influence. Therefore, our modern diatom data provide useful analogs to interpret paleoenvironments in the region.     

Buenos Aires,capital of tango: tourism,redevelopment and the cultural politics of neoliberal urbanism

In this paper, I problematize the connections between global tourism, urban redevelopment and cultural policy in Buenos Aires. Market-oriented approaches to urban growth have continued after Argentina’s economic collapse of 2001–2002. Devaluation produced unprecedented international affordability, which triggered a tourism boom. City government capitalized on this through cultural initiatives. Yet tourist-oriented cultural entrepreneurialism promoted forms of disjointed redevelopment that exacerbate socio-spatial inequality and fragmentation. Moreover, Mayor Macri has been advancing a cultural politics of scale that recasts Buenos Aires as a world-class city, while mobilizing localist identities to oppose national efforts towards income redistribution and intercultural recognition. Particularly important have been the recent appropriations of tango as a cultural commodity. Deployed for city marketing and selective reinvestment, tango also emboldens Eurocentric narratives of cosmopolitan urbanity that legitimize racialized exclusion and geographical elitism. Concluding remarks suggest that socio-political uses of tango are not the exclusive domain of neoliberal urbanism, and research implications are discussed beyond Buenos Aires.     

北京市居民购物行为空间结构演变

从消费者行为活动切入是研究城市商业空间结构的重要视角。在问卷调查的基础上, 分析10 年来基于认知距离的北京市居民购物行为空间结构的演变特征及其影响机制。结果表明: 北京市居民购物的平均出行距离整体上有缩短趋势; 居民不同类型商品购物出行空间结构的演变和购物地点的演变都呈现出不同的特点; 10 年来北京近郊区居民购物出行空间的等级有明显下降趋势, 中心城区居民则变化不大。上述演变特征均反映出北京商业发展的离心化和多中心化趋势: 居住地附近的低等级商品购物行为逐渐增多, 区域性购物中心、大型超市以及家电卖场对高等级商品购物产生巨大吸引力。影响北京市居民购物行为空间结构演变的因素可以归结为宏观环境变化和购物供给方变化(外生因素) 以及购物需求方变化(内生因 素) 3 个方面, 它们互相影响、互相作用并形成综合性机制模式, 有效推动了北京市居民购物行为空间结构的演变。     

西宁市不同区位社区居民购物行为时空间特征

基于西宁市7个社区居民购物行为问卷调查数据,探讨西宁市不同区位社区居民不同类型商品购物行为的时空特征。结果表明:不同区位社区居民购物频率、出行时段和出行距离存在差异,受营业时间和气温的影响居民购物活动以白天为主,夜间较少;市中心和郊区社区较多居民步行购买低等级商品,市中心外围较多居民购买低等级商品以公共汽车为主;西宁市市中心和郊区居民购物出行符合不同等级的商品购物空间的等级圈层结构,可分为3个圈层,而市中心外围居民的不同等级商品购物圈差别不明显。     

广州购物中心时空演变及对城市商业空间结构的影响研究

以购物中心为研究对象,选择广州为案例地,采用ArcGIS和SPSS软件进行空间属性表达和统计分析,探讨购物中心时空演变特征及与城市商业空间结构的关系,得出以下结论：广州购物中心数量及规模增长呈现出周期性和跳跃性的特征,购物中心的分布主要集聚于中心城区,其空间分布格局正逐步由集聚中心城区向集聚与扩散并存的方向发展。从购物中心时空演变的影响因素分析,人口规模与购物中心数量及规模存在显著的正相关性,购物中心空间布局的交通指向性明显,购物中心时空演变还受城市空间发展战略、城市用地结构调整影响较大,而消费者一站式购物、体验消费趋势也对购物中心空间布局以及经营产生重要影响。最后,探讨了购物中心发展对城市商业空间结构的影响。购物中心发展促进城市商业中心等级体系呈现扁平化,有利于城市多中心商业空间结构体系的形成,与此同时,购物中心也影响了城市商业业态结构,提升了商业中心现代化水平。     

中国城市老年人日常购物行为的空间特征——以北京、深圳和上海为例

以中国城市老年人日常消费行为状况的问卷调查为基础, 主要运用经验行为主义方法, 从宏观层面揭示出中国城市老年人日常购物行为的空间特征, 通过对北京、深圳和上海三个城市的老年人购物空间圈层结构的比较研究, 发现北京市老年人购物活动随距离衰减的规律比较规则;深圳老年人购物行为空间则随距离增加而波动式衰减;上海老年人购物活动空间的收敛性最强。进一步从微观和实证的角度分析了居住区位因素对老年人购物空间的影响, 得出小区级商业设施的完善程度和可达性直接决定了老年人购物空间的收敛程度的结论。     

旅游购物心理成本与营销对策

该文论述旅游购物对促进游客的旅游消费、增加旅游目的地的旅游收入的重要意义。旅游者购买耐用消费品除了要承担较大的经济成本之外 ,还要克服较大的心理阻力 ,承担较大的心理成本。分析形成购物心理成本的主要因素 ,提出了降低旅游购物心理成本 ,促进旅游购物消费的营销措施。     

广州市居民网络购物频率的影响因素及其空间差异

基于广州市居民网络购物行为调查问卷和电子地图兴趣点(POI)数据,从全市和不同区位2个空间尺度,运用有序多分类Logistic回归模型探讨了个人社会经济属性、商品特征、空间环境及物流快递4类因素对居民网购频率的影响。研究发现:①影响因素在不同空间尺度和不同区位产生作用的因子个数、作用强度和作用方向存在差异。影响因子数量在全市域范围最多,远郊区最少。各因子总体上在近郊区和全市域作用强度大,在远郊区最弱。退货服务重要性在近郊区和中心区作用方向相反;②部分空间环境因子对网购频率有影响,城市化水平、商业中心可达性在全市域范围有影响,居住地城市化水平越高、离商业中心距离越近的居民网购频率越高,支持了创新扩散假说。快递点数量在中心区有影响,居住地快递点数量越多的居民网购频率越高。其它空间环境因子没有显著影响。③个人社会经济属性因素对网购频率影响较大,性别、年龄是最重要的影响因子,其次是学历、职业,月收入影响最小。商品特征、快递物流因素各因子在不同区域对网购频率产生较大影响。     

虚拟休闲社区的营造与表征:女性网购案例

科技的快速发展促生了虚拟休闲时代的到来。以虚拟休闲为切入点,消费者的网络购物实践为研究对象,采用半结构化访谈的研究方法,分析网络消费实践中所形成的虚拟社区,探索女性消费者参与虚拟休闲社区所塑造的互动关系与社区意义。基于ICTs媒介,研究发现:网络消费会重塑现代女性的休闲实践,消费过程中的每个环节包括购买行为结束后的感受都是其获得休闲体验的重要维度;女性网购者自发营造虚拟休闲社区,在强化自我社会角色的同时实现自我休闲;女性网购者在虚拟空间中所获得的愉悦感是群内成员发展其社区关系的纽带,并通过社区的延伸实现和维持积极的自我价值。虚拟休闲会随着载体虚拟化改变其体验形式,并为消费实践与虚拟空间的关系探索提供新的视角。人文地理学者尤其是社会文化地理学者除了关注“客观存在”的地理空间之外,也应该关注“真实存在”的网络空间,网络空间与地理空间一样具有其独特的空间性特征。同时还提出,虚拟休闲也是地理实在休闲的重要补充,并且在当今社会具有不可替代性。     

Geochemistry of waters and brines from the Salinas Grandes basin,Córdoba,Argentina. I. Geomorphology and hydrochemical characteristics

This paper reports on hydrochemical features of diluted waters in the source areas and the brine end-members dominant in the playa of the Salinas Grandes Basin, Córdoba, Argentina. Special emphasis was placed on the study of the relationship between geomorphology and the resulting hydrochemical fractionation. Inflow is from springs and mountain streams which disappear before reaching the saline complex. The playa and intermittent saline lakes are mainly fed by groundwater flow and a few moderately saline and perennial springs. Conversely, ephemeral lakes are fed by atmospheric precipitation and groundwater, whereas small ponds are only fed by atmospheric precipitation. The absence of a clear linkage between geomorphological units and water types was evident in the source areas. Up to four types of water were recognized in a given geomorphological unit. From the sandflat downward towards the playa, the correspondence between geomorphological units and water types was clear, coinciding with a decreased hydrochemical heterogeneity. In this subenvironment, I have recognized two dominant types of water (SO ₄ ^2– –Cl^––HCO ₃ ^– –Na⁺ and Cl^––SO ₄ ^2– –HCO ₃ ^– –Na⁺), which can be considered the original members of the neutral brine in the playa (Cl^––SO ₄ ^2– –Na⁺ where Ca²⁺+Mg²⁺ do not surpass 5 meq per cent), and an intermediate type in the mudflat (Cl^––SO ₄ ^2– –Na⁺ where the contribution of Ca²⁺+Mg²⁺ reaches up to 15 meq per cent). It seems evident that in the zone between the source areas and the sandflat, hydrochemistry is governed by chemical weathering. In stream floodplains and in the distal alluvial plain, close to the saline complex, the increase in water types as well as the increase of HCO ₃ ^– with respect to SO ₄ ^2– , were explained by the mixture of aquifers controlled by the Salinas Grandes-Salinas de Ambargasta fracture. In the saline complex, the more concentrated end-members are the result of evaporation of the two more frequent water-types in the sandflat subenvironment, and salt dissolution of ancient evaporite deposit.     

长春市零售商业空间分布特征及形成机理

以长春市中心城区大型零售商业网点的调研数据为基础,运用空间密度分析、最近邻距离分析及区位熵分析等研究方法,探讨长春市零售商业空间分布特征及其形成机理。研究结果表明：① 长春市零售商业网点的空间分布整体呈现单中心集聚与多中心分散特征,商业业态空间分化逐渐显现,不同业态空间分布特征差异性较大;② 零售商业网点规模容量呈现老城区小规模密集分布,外围开发区大规模离散分布特征,且商业网点的规模容量等级结构较为合理;③ 不同区块的零售行业特征存在较大差异,成熟区块表现出多行业、多功能复合特征,发展中区块单一功能特征较为明显;④ 商业业态演进及其内在特性选择、居民消费结构与行为因素影响、集聚经济效应驱动及公共政策的宏观调控共同影响零售商业空间格局的形成与发展。     

Palaeomagnetic constraints on the age of deformation of the Sierras Australes thrust and fold belt, Argentina

A palaeomagnetic study has been carried out on late Palaeozoic rocks exposed in the Sierras Australes thrust and fold belt of Buenos Aires province (Argentina), in the early Permian red sandstones and clay siltstones of the Tunas Formation. The sections sampled are exposed in the eastern parts of the belt, in Sierra de las Tunas (north) and Sierra de Pillahuincó (south). More than 300 specimens were collected from 25 sites, in three localities with different structural attitudes. Demagnetization at high temperatures isolated a characteristic remanence at 20 sites. All the localities have a reverse characteristic remanence, suggesting that the magnetization was acquired during the Kiaman interval. Stepwise tectonic tilt correction suggests that the Tunas Formation in these localities acquired its magnetization during folding in early Permian times. Palaeomagnetic poles were computed for each locality based on partial tilt-corrected remanence directions. Taking into account the fact that these localities are close to one another and that the rocks are all of reverse polarity, a group syntectonic palaeomagnetic pole called Tunas was calculated: longitude: 13.9°E, latitude: 63.0°S; A ₉₅ = 5.4°, K = 39.7, N = 19. This pole is consistent with previously calculated poles from South America assigned to the early Permian. In age it corresponds to the early Permian San Rafaelic tectonic phase of the Sierras Australes. Independent geological evidence indicates that the Tunas Formation underwent syndepositional deformation. We conclude that the Tunas Formation was deposited, deformed and remagnetized, all during the early Permian.     

基于女性主义地理学的消费空间性别关系建构——以西安“世纪金花”购物中心为例

近年来,女性主义地理学的研究内容转向身体、身份认同和象征空间等微观地理,消费空间的性别研究成为关注热点。文章基于女性主义视角,借助对典型消费空间的实证调查,考察空间性别化特征以及性别因素决定下的空间之权力隐喻关系,总结了人—地互动模式中的性别建构特征。研究发现,消费空间为女性提供了参与城市公共空间的场所,见证了女性空间权的觉醒与实践,但女性仍受男性规训与控制;现代女性在消费空间中的行为延续了传统的角色定位,公共空间参与度并未显著改变她们的性别角色和在家务上的性别化分工;消费空间再现和建构的性别关系、性别地位是一种典型的隐形歧视,女性处于实际上的不平等地位。因此,空间和性别不可分割且互为构成,两性在消费空间中的表现实质上是性别权力关系的投射,折射出这一地理空间中两性的宰控关系。     

Holocene Vegetation History and Palaeoenvironmental Conditions on the Temperate Atlantic Coast of Argentina,as Inferred from Multi-Proxy Lacustrine Records

Holocene vegetation history and palaeoenvironmental conditions are investigated at the south coast of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. La Olla 1 and Laguna del Sauce Grande sediment sequences are analysed for pollen, calcareous microfossil (ostracods and foraminifers) and plant macrofossil remains (mainly seeds and charophyte oospores). Supplementary information is provided by sedimentological analysis. Modern surface sample data are used to assist in the interpretation of the fossil records. La Olla 1 sequence covers the period 7890 to 7630 cal. BP. The microfauna recovered is characteristic of a shallow marginal-marine environment such as a coastal lagoon. The microfossils indicate a marine connection between 7850 and 7800 cal. BP. Plant macrofossil remains and pollen analyses indicate an extension of the water body after 7780 cal. BP. The pollen record reveals the development of a halophytic plant community in a coastal environment. The sediment record from Laguna del Sauce Grande comprises the last 3000 years. Microfossils and macrofossil remains indicate that the lake history begins with a temporary brackish-water phase. More stable conditions and higher salinity values occur between 1940 and 900 cal. BP. Periods of water level fluctuations occur after 900 cal. BP, with high water levels between 660 and 270 cal. BP. The uppermost samples of the sequence show similar conditions to present day. Pollen spectra indicate a relatively stable vegetation composition throughout the last 3000 years. Pollen assemblages reflect the present regional grassland vegetation with taxa characteristic of the surrounding dune communities.     

Knowledge,Innovation and Economic Growth: The Theory and Practice of Learning Regions. Frans Boekema,Kevin Morgan,Silvia Bakkers,and Roel Rutten,eds.; Illegal Cities: Law and Urban Change in Developing Countries. Edesio Fernandes and Ann Varley,eds.

In the Susette Kelo et al. v. City of New London, Connecticut, et al. decision of 2005, a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court held that the use of eminent domain by the New London Development Corporation, a nonprofit organization charged with redeveloping a depressed site in New London, Connecticut, was not a violation of the Fifth Amendment, which prevents the taking of private property for "public use" without just compensation. Unlike prior eminent domain decisions, the immediate beneficiaries in Kelo were private interests: the public benefit was simply the localized trickle-down effects of economic redevelopment. This short commentary argues that Kelo offers an instructive window into the contradictory geographies of property under urban neoliberalism. While neoliberal redevelopment frequently invokes and mobilizes private property, it may also dispossess owners and rework entitlements in the name of "highest and best use," as in New London. The social geographies of dispossession, however, are not equitable: smaller and otherwise marginalized interests may suffer disproportionately, despite ideological assurances to the contrary.     

The persistent water problems of Lima,Peru: Neoliberalism,institutional failures and social inequalities

The contingent relation between water governance and nature neoliberalization has defined most interventions in the water sector around the world in recent years. In the case of the Peruvian capital Lima, the provision of water and sanitation services in the last two decades has been the object of investments and institutional reforms strongly influenced by economic neoliberalism. This essay examines the evolution of these neoliberalizing tendencies, noting the internal disputes, necessary adjustments and underlying problems of water sufficiency in the metropolitan region. The empirical results suggest that, rather than a straightforward process, the neoliberalization of water in Lima has advanced according to political opportunities and technico‐operational constraints. The water reforms implemented in the 1990s – when the goal of privatization met political opposition – can be contrasted with the more recent phase in the 2000s, when more flexible mechanisms, such as public‐private partnerships, have facilitated public acceptance. Despite the renovation of the infrastructure, the modernization of the water sector has failed to address persistent water management problems, namely the discriminatory treatment of low income residents, the chaotic expansion of the metropolitan area and the risk of future water shortages.