Marginal Mobility: Public Transit Infrastructure for Precarious Settlements in Metropolitan Buenos Aires By Mario Jezierski Goetz BA in History BA in Social Theory and Practice University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan (2015) Submitted to the Department of Urban Studies and Planning in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in City Planning at the MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY May 2020 © 2020 Mario Goetz. All Rights Reserved. The author here by grants to MIT the permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of the thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created. Author_________________________________________________________________ Department of Urban Studies and Planning May 20, 2020 Certified by _____________________________________________________________ Professor Bishwapriya Sanyal Department of Urban Studies and Planning Thesis Supervisor Accepted by______________________________________________________________ Ceasar McDowell Professor of the Practice Chair, MCP Committee Department of Urban Studies and Planning 2 Marginal Mobility: Public Transit Infrastructure for Precarious Settlements in Metropolitan Buenos Aires By Mario Jezierski Goetz Submitted to the Department of Urban Studies and Planning on May 19, 2020 in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master in City Planning ABSTRACT The human right to mobility is a primary, yet underdeveloped factor in the literature and practice surrounding urban infrastructure development, especially for those living and working outside of formalized legal, political, and economic arrangements. As harbingers of historical modes of production and the strain imposed by globalized, stratified urban environments, not only those living and working on the margins of urban communities, but the very institutional structures tasked with securing their livelihoods, continue to suffer from fragmentation and isolation. This work examines two case studies as lenses into the particular ramifications of these powerful historical currents: the Metrobús Bus Rapid Transit initiative, and the OPISU (Organismo Provincial de Integración Social y Urbana) informal settlement upgrading project, both of which converged roughly from 2017 to 2020 in and around the conjoined neighborhoods of Costa Esperanza, Costa del Lago, and 8 de Mayo. Through semi-structured interviews with officials, experiential knowledge gained through site visits, and examination of source material from scholars and practitioners, this thesis reveals how the mode of life in these settlements, as well as the structures of transit service provision upon which they depend, represent the precarity of urban development in Buenos Aires. The responses of Metrobús and OPISU benefitted from renewed governmental efforts to integrate disparate geographies, jurisdictions, and funding structures, but struggled to overcome the barriers imposed by siloed foci. Invigorated by internal professionalism, knowledge-bases, and relationship building which facilitated impressive accomplishments, the failure to recognize common goals, and the insufficient separated mechanisms to evaluate the social terrain, resulted in restricted channels of essential knowledge-sharing. To create truly inter-relative institutions capable of building a platform for a stable, equitable, and sustainable urban landscape, governments should strive toward integrated Communities of Practice in development projects, oriented toward the right to mobility as foundational for full citizenship. Thesis Supervisor: Bishwapriya Sanyal Title: Ford International Professor of Urban Development, DUSP 3 Foreword This project represents another step in the development of a personal commitment to research leading to action, linked intimately with the enigmatic relationships between academics, policy, implementation, and reflection within urban planning literature. Similar to undergraduate work piecing together the larger structural forces that restricted public transportation policy in Detroit, a major factor in the continued segregation and disinvestment in the region, this current project refuses to ignore the spectrum of interlocking forces which residents of CC8 and similar communities struggle to overcome each day. Written as the Coronavirus crisis dawned, this project serves as an appropriate reminder of the social, economic, and political ties which bind our global system together, requiring an understanding at both intimate and vast social levels in order to create a stable, sustainable world for us all. Acknowledgements Everything I have accomplished academically I owe to my parents. They are my most trusted guides, fiercest critics, staunchest supporters, and firmest friends. Though I followed my own trails, they showered my life with the light and promise I needed to progress, and they are a constant reminder that I am never completely lost. To them and my extended family, which pitched in to provide the financial and emotional support necessary for this journey, I will be forever grateful. As the son of professors, I know the dedication and brilliance which the DUSP faculty share with students, and I am grateful to have spent two years learning from this unparalleled group of scholars and professionals. Thank you to my academic advisor, Alan Berger, whose advice on my course of study set my priorities and brought me through. Thank you to my thesis advisor, Bish Sanyal, whose practicum course in Buenos Aires formed the germination of the relationships and ideas which became this project. His advice and support gave me the courage to mold what were vague premonitions just a few months ago, into a scholarly contribution worthy of pride. Thank you to my thesis reader, Katrin Kaufer, and the CoLab team, who were instrumental in providing the theoretical grounding which breathed life into my methodology, and were invaluable partners during my time as a teaching assistant, and as a PAR pupil. Thank you as well to Ezra Glenn, whose City in Film series was my first experience with the depth and creativity within DUSP, and a major factor in my decision to apply and attend. I also benefitted from his good work, and that of the administrators responsible for a vital Rodwin Fund Travel Grant. Thank you as well to the tireless and invaluable team of administrators such as Ellen Rushman, and staff which run DUSP and MIT, to those cleaning unused Urban Design Skills Styrofoam and wiping down white-walls for the next day of workshops. Thank you to the wonderful cohort of students I learned from and collaborated with during these two years. I am so excited to see what you all will accomplish, and I’m so glad we became friends! I am humbled by the time and consideration offered to me by the transportation and OPISU officials which I interviewed and learned from in the course of this project. Their accomplishments speak for themselves, and grow from dedication and love. Thank you to Manuela López Menéndez and Coco Arosena, who devoted essential time and energy to my project, guiding me to the contacts or information I needed, or through the neighborhoods of CC8, and invaluable contributions to their communities. Finally, thank you to Emily Choque, who accompanied me through the streets of Buenos Aires and beyond, guiding me, supporting me, and whose sweetness and joy sustained me. I hope this project has contributed in some small way to the lives of all involved, and most of all for the residents and riders of Buenos Aires. 4 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER 1: CONTEXTUALIZING MOBILITY, PRECARITY, AND DEVELOPMENT .......................... 9 WHY TRANSIT AND PRECARIOUS SETTLEMENTS?........................................................................................................................ 9 POLITICAL ECONOMY AND ARGENTINA ..................................................................................................................................... 11 STATE AND POLICY .......................................................................................................................................................................... 15 RESEARCH APPROACHES ................................................................................................................................................................. 18 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................................... 19 FRAMING ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 19 METHODOLOGY DETAIL ................................................................................................................................................................ 24 CHAPTER 3: HISTORICAL REVIEW AND COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS................................................... 28 HISTORICAL CONTEXT: TRANSIT .................................................................................................................................................. 28 TRANSIT IN THE NEOLIBERAL ERA .............................................................................................................................................. 33 CONTEMPORARY OUTLOOK..........................................................................................................................................................