University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Architecture and Planning ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations Winter 11-15-2016 The Right to City in Argentina: Building Capacity through Hecho en Buenos Aires, a Street Newspaper Keira Philipp-Schnurer University of New Mexico Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/arch_etds Part of the Latin American Languages and Societies Commons, and the Urban, Community and Regional Planning Commons Recommended Citation Philipp-Schnurer, Keira. "The Right to City in Argentina: Building Capacity through Hecho en Buenos Aires, a Street Newspaper." (2016). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/arch_etds/33 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Architecture and Planning ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. i Keira Philipp-Schnurer Candidate Community and Regional Planning, Latin American Studies Department This thesis is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication: Approved by the Thesis Committee: Claudia Isaac, Chairperson David Henkel Susan Tiano ii THE RIGHT TO THE CITY IN ARGENTINA: BUILDING CAPACITY THROUGH HECHO EN BUENOS AIRES, A STREET NEWSPAPER By Keira Philipp-Schnurer B.A., English and Spanish, Ohio Wesleyan University, 2008 THESIS Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Community and Regional Planning and Master of Arts in Latin American Studies The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico December, 2016 iii DEDICATION To the people of Hecho en Buenos Aires and beyond who seek the 'possible-impossible,' a transformative utopian future. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are many to thank as I look back on the journey to get here, and quite a journey it has been. Foremost among them are the faculty members who served on my committee on studies and who demonstrated the deepest degree of patience and support: Dr. Claudia Isaac, Dr. David Henkel, and Dr. Susan Tiano. Your thoughtful advice has transformed the way I engage personally and professionally the world. To the advisors of the MALAS and MCRP programs, Amanda Wolfe and Beth Rowe: I would not have reached this point without your immeasurable advice and encouragement. Truly. Thank you. To the many amazing womyn with whom I have studied and worked in the MALAS and MCRP program and across campus, including but by no means limited to KL, KD, KP, and KFS. Thank you for prompting thoughtful conversations about academia, work, and the meaning of it all. In particular, to Patty Kent (PAR excellence): our long debates over PBRs were among the most memorable and meaningful experiences. Finally, to the family whose love and advice has brought me to this present point: my mother, the artist and intellectual, who challenges me to see the world in new ways; my brothers and their partners, who bring levity and thoughtfulness to every encounter; my partner's family, who remind me that the mountains are calling; and lastly, my partner himself, Seth, whose constant friendship inspires gratitude and appreciation for every day. v THE RIGHT TO THE CITY IN ARGENTINA: BUILDING CAPACITY THROUGH HECHO EN BUENOS AIRES, A STREET NEWSPAPER by Keira Philipp-Schnurer B.A., English and Spanish, Ohio Wesleyan University, 2008 M.C.R.P., Community and Regional Planning, University of New Mexico, 2016 M.A., Latin American Studies, University of New Mexico, 2016 ABSTRACT As the new millennium unfolds, many activists and scholars have responded to enduring inequality in urban environments by embracing French philosopher Henri Lefebvre's writings on the "right to the city" as a "rallying cry and demand." In an effort to contribute to this dialogue, this thesis explores the concept of the "right to the city" by operationalizing it as a theoretical framework rooted in Lefebvre’s original writings and applying it o a grounded examination of the street newspaper Hecho en Buenos Aires to examine the intersection of "right to the city" theory and practice. This investigation finds that the organization seems to advance the "right to the city" in Buenos Aires albeit without embracing its rhetoric. The organization does this, first, by developing the individual capacity of individuals in situación de calle through integrated, holistic programs that promote autogestión and, second, by creating opportunities for those same individuals to appropriate urban space and participate in urban processes - two actions key to Lefebvre's radical and transformative "right to the city." The investigation finds evidence, moreover, to suggest that the organization as a whole seeks radical, transformative change in alignment with Lefebvre's conceptualization of the "right to the city." These preliminary findings are closely contextualized by the historical specificity of Argentina, but may be used to inform the work of other street newspaper organizations operating in other Latin American countries or even in other developing world regions. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ v TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 2 Outline........................................................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER 2 - METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................... 8 Analytical Approach ..................................................................................................... 8 Data Acquisition ........................................................................................................... 9 Analytical Strategy...................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 3 - THEORY: THE RIGHT TO THE CITY ................................................. 14 Scholarly Concept, Social Justice Movement, and Codified Legislation ................... 15 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................... 19 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 28 CHAPTER 4 - CONTEXT: ARGENTINA ...................................................................... 30 The Regional Context ................................................................................................. 30 Neoliberal Conditions and Contestations in Argentina .............................................. 32 CHAPTER 5 - CASE STUDY: HECHO EN BUENOS AIRES ...................................... 46 Overview ..................................................................................................................... 46 International Model ..................................................................................................... 47 Argentine Iteration ...................................................................................................... 49 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 55 CHAPTER 6 - FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ............................................................. 57 vii What Right? ................................................................................................................ 58 To What City? ............................................................................................................. 62 For Whom and By What Means?................................................................................ 64 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 73 CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................ 74 Limitations and Future Research ................................................................................ 74 Recommendations ....................................................................................................... 75 Concluding Thoughts .................................................................................................. 76 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 80 TRANSLATIONS ............................................................................................................ 96 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Contextual map of region, country, city, and neighborhood ..................................52 Figure 2. Contextual photography of inside and outside organization ..................................53 Figure 3. Representative sampling of social justice issues of review ....................................63 Figure 4. Photographs of vendors' "tres cosas hay en la vida" project ..................................70 ix LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Intersection