Coastal Landscape and Public Use. a Landscape Architecture Proposal
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Coastal Landscape and Public Use. A Landscape Architecture Proposal for the Los Limites Beach, Chubut, Argentina ri-vista María Belén Bonaz University of Buenos Aires, Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urbanism/Faculty of Agronomy [email protected] 02 2017 Abstract Lungo la costa argentina della Patagonia lo sviluppo di un’urbanizzazione di carattere privato interessa diffusamente le aree a spiaggia pubbliche. Questo contributo presenta il caso di Los Limites Beach, un’area situata lungo la costa della Patagonia. Dopo aver analizzato caratteri na- turali e sociali dell’area, è stato sviluppato un progetto di paesaggio che ha l’obiettivo di proteg- gere l’identità paesaggistica della costa della Patagonia preservando le sue componenti natura- li e favorendone, al contempo, l’uso pubblico. Parole chiave Urbanizzazione e privatizzazione costiera, aree pubbliche, paesaggio costiero. Abstract Along the Argentinian Patagonia Coast private urbanization develops over public beach areas. This study presents the case of an area called Los Limites Beach situated along the Patagonian coast. After an analysis, survey and diagnosis of natural and social features, a landscape project was developed having the objective to protect Patagonian coastal landscape identity, preserving its natural components and encouraging its public use. Keywords Coastal urbanization, coastal privatization, public areas, coastal landscape. Received: July 2017 / Accepted: November 2017 © The Author(s) 2015. This article is published with Creative Commons license CC BY-SA 4.0 Firenze University Press. 178 DOI: 10.13128/RV-22008 - www.fupress.net/index.php/ri-vista/ Fig. 1 — Los Límites Beach Bonaz location. Source: author’s elaboration based on Google Maps 2015. Introduction author mentions that this transformation results in Diaz de Pineda et al. (1973) define landscape as the consequences like the increase of social inequality plurisensorial perception of an ecological relation and social exclusion. This ‘social rupture’ phenome- system; in these terms, the landscape is generated non is materialized in an ‘urban fracture’ due to the by a sensorial appreciation of the place and the in- development of ‘locked’ residential areas, such as teraction between ecological and cultural features. gated communities and country clubs. As postulated by Nogué (2008), the landscape Perahia and Vidal Koppmann (2010) highlight some is the cultural effect of society on a given space, common characteristics of these urban develop- recognizable in two related dimensions: one physi- ments, namely their isolated features and the relat- cal, material and objective, and another perceptive, ed fact of being far away from the major urban cen- cultural and subjective. tres and thus accessible only by highways, routes, Man acts on the natural landscape by intervening, and private transport. These urban developments modifying, and recomposing the place, material- generate high costs of transportation and promote izing needs, aspirations, desires, and experiences. a higher energy and non-renewable resource con- The result is a composition of a new appearance, sumption. Consequences of this type of urban de- an innovated landscape (Aponte Garcia, 2003). This velopments are detrimental to life quality of inhabi- cultural landscape reflects the society attitude to- tants, resulting in an even worse scenario in coastal wards the environment, as well as the attempts environments, which are the most sensitive areas of man to adapt to the environment in order to to human disturbance (Scalise and Schanck, 2007). improve his life condition. However, the man-land- Researches on this topic carried out by the Univer- scape relationship is not always harmonious nei- sity of Buenos Aires show how the new residential ther balanced. areas consisting of ‘closed typologies’ situated in Svampa (2001) affirms that as a consequence of the urban peripheries, such as gated neighborhoods application of development models based on eco- and country clubs, caused a rapid modification of nomic globalization that have been carried out since the territorial footprint, generating a substantial the Nineties in Argentina, this country is tackling a change in spatial patterns and landscapes (Vidal deep transformation of socio-spatial patterns that Koppmann, 2005). entails significant changes in the urban scene. The By appealing to exceptions in the existing zoning 179 Fig. 2 —The study area. Source: author’s elaboration based on Mapbox 2015. opposite page Fig. 3 — The main beach areas. Source: author’s elaboration ri-vista 02 2017 regulations, in several coastal cities of the coun- Límites Beach, the construction of a gated commu- try, gated communities are built inside beaches nity (gated neighborhood) known as ‘Country Club and natural resource areas, without the consensus La Herradura’, was carried out. This urban develop- of the community. The advance of private actors ment does not take into account the local coastal and their real estate business is not consistent, in dynamics and directly affects the functioning of the most cases, with the strategic plans and zoning by natural ecosystem. The most visible changes are municipalities, demanding the creation of a con- related to the constructions of buildings and roads sensual urbanism to solve these critical situations. that affected the configuration of the coastline by This privatization of natural resources to generate increasing beach’s erosion during sea storms. In 2011 suburban low-density and fragmented areas (both several houses in the neighborhood were affected by a social and spatial fragmentation) is disintegrating a storm, however this event did not prevent the sale the coastal landscape (Vidal Koppmann, 2015). Bio- of land on the next vacant beach, Los límites Beach, diversity is strongly affected and the public access that is our case study. This is the last untouched to the coast is blocked. beach in the region, an important habitat for sever- As postulated by Codignotto (2000), in the Patago- al species. Intervening in this area is important not nian coast, territorial policies have paved the way only to preserve a significative biodiversity hotspot, to private urbanization to advance over beach ar- but also in order to rebuild the link between the eas, promoting the privatization of public resources present-day society with the landscape, a link that and the vulnerability of their landscape. In recent is currently lost (Aponte Garcia 2003). A landscape population censuses the number of inhabitants in project that considers both the natural existing the town closest to the study area (i.e. Los Límites matrix and the socio-cultural features is therefore Beach, see hereafter), namely Rada Tilly, has rough- needed. A landscape proposal in this area grants ly doubled its number. On the La Herradura Beach, the possibility to preserve the natural landscape 180 situated at 9 km from the city of Rada Tilly, near Los while promoting public use, so its consequent en- Bonaz hancement and protection. The specific objectives Beach are its location and its high visual quality de- of the landscape project for the coastline area of Los rived from its fine sandy beaches, which give possi- Límites Beach here presented are: (i) to characterize bilities for recreation in an outdoor public space. In the coastal landscape in the study area, (ii) to iden- Los Límites Beach, the area corresponding to Santa tify the admitted public uses, (iii) to strengthen the Cruz Province is being affected by several transfor- cultural identity of this coastal landscape. mations due to the progressive division into lots and the construction of infrastructures for private Analysing the Study Area: Los Límites Beach urbanizations. This ongoing transformation is to- Los Límites Beach is located on the interprovincial day already visible because of the outlines of roads border of Chubut (Escalante District) and Santa Cruz that cause land fragmentation. (Deseado District) in the San Jorge Gulf basin and it is It should be noticed that these landscape changes part of a seven beaches system of the Argentine Sea are being carried out in areas that possess a legal (Mar Argentino) in the South Atlantic. It is 20 km environmental framework. Specifically, Law 2658 of North of the city of Comodoro Rivadavia, being its Santa Cruz Province aims at preventing short, me- closest town Rada Tilly at 12 km. Los Límites Beach dium and long effects that activities, projects, pro- borders to its north with La Herradura Beach and to grams, public or private undertakings could cause its south with Punta Peligro y Playa La Tranquera. to the ecological balance. The law considers those The study area consists of the northern area of Los activities capable of modifying the environment, Límites Beach that borders to the north with Punta those which contaminate directly or indirectly the Delgada, to the south with the jurisdictional limit soil, water, air, flora, fauna, landscape and other between Chubut and Santa Cruz Provinces, to the components, both natural and cultural. The envi- east with the Argentine Sea, and to the west with ronmental legislation of Chubut Province too (Law the national route N ° 3. 4563) is aimed at the preservation, conservation and The main attractions for visitors of Los Límites support of landscape resources for its inhabitants. 181 opposite page Fig. 4 — The main beach areas. Source: author’s elaboration. ri-vista 02 2017 However, in spite of these legislative frameworks by the contrasts