[Autonomy Project][Diego Ramirez] by Juan Diego Ramirez Leon

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MASTER IN ADvANCED ARCHITECTURE

COVER 2014/16 Autonomy project

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BARCELONA

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[AUTONOMY PROJECT]

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Master in advance architecture of catalonia mma2

Author: Juan Diego Ramírez León Faculty: Vicente Guallart Faculty Assistant: Ruxandra Iancu Bratosin

“Thesis presented to obtain the qualification of Master Degree from the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalunya” Barcelona, 28th September 2016

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to my family and the andean claim...

INDEX

INDEX 01_Introduction 01.1_Abstract 01.2_Prologue

page 06

02_Historical Framework 02.1_Colonial Imprints 02.2_Economic Heritages

page 10

03_Economic Framework 03.1_Morphological Heritage 03.2_Continental Outsourcing

page 28

04_Contextual Framework 03.1_Social Innuendos 03.1_Environmental Conditions

page 44

05_Case Studies [Hugh Barton Analysis] 04.1_Catamarca 04.2_Calama 04.3_Potosi 04.4_Salta

page 80

06_The Cajamarca Paradox 05.1_Morphological Analyses 05.2_Water Management Policies

page 146

07_Diagonosis

page 174

08_Productive Reconvention 07.1_Laboratory of Economic Complexity 07.2_Resources and Objectified Interests 07.3_Production Diversification

page 178

09_Energy Proposal 08.1_Strategies 08.2_Deployment Logics

page 182

10_Agricultual Diversification 09.1_Strategies 09.2_Deployment Logics

page 192

11_Densification Protocol 10.1_Strategies 10.2_Deployment Logics

page 208

12_Masterplan Composition 13_Machenic Assemblages 11.1_Andes Defender 12.2_High-Tech Cropping

page 236

14_Bibliography

page 270

page 254

abstract

During the historical processes of civilizations, the morphology of cities has served as one of the most useful tools to study and analyze the social, political, economic, productive and cultural ethos of previous, and possibly posterior, societies. The materialistic condition of the cities brings together various abstract conceptions such as the political and the economic, whose dialectic foundation seizes a common ground towards and within the city. If we scrutinize the emergence, development and consolidation of cities through the conceptual framework of historical materialism [Marx: 1959], we can argue that production and its subsequent exchange of goods is the basis of all social order. In all societies throughout history, goods distribution and the social division is determined by what the society produces, how it produces, and the mode in which the products are interchanged. This notion is subsequently transformed and shaped in the means of inhabitation, the city.

The equation is simple: profit concentration and loss distribution. This problematic exalts the historical antagonism between the city and the countryside, where the countryside becomes the anchor of the extractive economies, and the city plays its role by concentrating the economic capital.

The main task of much late modern culture seems to have been the development of the idea of processing infinity through endless repetition. This can be described in terms of Hegelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s concept of bad infinity - a sort of nightmare of the dialectical process that, in spite of its attempted negation of the finite cannot avoid incarnation in the finite, which pushes towards a perennial, compulsive repetition of itself. (Aureli: 2011.)

The status quo fosters civil confrontations that polarize the extractive companies and the communities around them, emphasizing the historical struggle between economic and social capital. In the following charts we can underline these two indicators â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the extractive zones and the civil associations against extractive economies â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and how they naturally match in the territory.

After revising this particular historical context, we can deliberate on the importance of the productive notion and its synergy with all the economic apparatus and how its abstraction reflects and materializes truthfully in cities. Nevertheless, how can we demonstrate this thesis in a collective or individual case study? In which society do we find a notorious and disruptive course, where the city morphology changed along with its production system?

The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guildmaster and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that each time ended, either in a revolutionary reconstruction of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes. The modern bourgeois society that has sprouted from the ruins of feudal society has not done away with class antagonisms. It has but established new classes, new conditions of oppression, new forms of struggle in place of the old ones. Our epoch, the epoch of the bourgeoisie, possesses, however, this distinctive feature: it has simplified class antagonisms. Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other: Bourgeoisie and Proletariat. (Marx: 1848)

The answer lies in the Latin American case, where after the establishment of the Spanish Viceroy (1542), the distributed and diversified production system of the native cultures shifted to a centralized economy, based on mercantilism and interventionism. This cultural and productive disturbances produced a standard layout for the intervened cities, whose contemporary 8

reality and morphology share remarkable and disturbing coincidences; the result of obsolete economies in the contemporary context. The repercussion of centralized economies in the South American continent is directly reflected in social indicators that determine the quality of life of the current citizens. These indicators such as inequality, poverty, illiteracy, high mortality rates and environmental pollution are incompatible with the centralized condition of the economic system; they are distributed all over the cities. The capitals of the countries that were once the developing poles of the Viceroy are now the cities that concentrate the highest rates of economic income and development.

prologue

Since the first notion of human grouping in tribal times passing through the Greek and the Roman society, the need to establish productive systems in order to satisfy the basic biological needs derived in the formation of incipient social structures where the division of labor and the dichotomy of the public and private [or political and economical according to the classification made by Aristotle ] first appeared in the human daily; being this dialectic most pronounced in the transition from the Greek to the Roman era, where this distinction became blurred and at the same time shifted the concept of the oikos politikè into the urbs, transforming the notion of the political space as mere infrastructure. Furthermore, subsequently the invention of modularity and perspective in the renaissance by Brunelleschi, an attempt to create representations through architecture arose by the means of not just showing the city as a whole but more important, the creation of a specific subject [the labor worker], which appeared during the shift from an agrarian society to a proto-industrial society which instantaneously created a political, social and economical turmoil. After the definition of urbanism by Cerdá in 1867, the cities were no longer the domain of architects; architecture and more precisely city architecture was relegated, if not almost extinct from the cities; urbanism gorged and erased all the limits of the city within the city. Likewise, the consolidation of the bourgeoisie, the emergence of modernity and the institution of the Fordist era sharpened the subjectivity that appeared in the renaissance, which evolved into the factory worker. Notwithstanding, after the crack in 1929 [post-fordism], the capitalist apparatus was forced to evolve and to change the material labor [factory] into the immaterial labor [office]. This resulted in the emergence of architects such as Mies Van der Rohe and Ludwig Hilberseimer in Berlin during 1919s, reviewing Cedric Potter’s Thinkbelt and of course modernism as we know it. Where the limits of the city are no longer visible, the over production for the over consumption and the bad infinity, described by Hegel as the infinite creation of new, finite things just for the sake of new ones, which capitalize the never-ending concept that carries within the modernism and its most pernicious ally:

urbanism. So that after the review of the historical materialism described by Marx, we can conclude that the productive systems and the economical powers de facto have molded the city through time; not only in morphological terms, but also on the social and the political spectrum. Within this scenario, my main interest relays on how the new productive systems with the implementation of technology and knowledge can become a key point in the amelioration of the productive chain, which consequently will modify and create a new paradigm within our cities, eliminating the superfluous subjectivity once for all from architectural domains. Inside this interest, I focused in the geographical areas that during the historical evolution have managed to excel in the extraction and production of primary goods; these places are mainly located in Latin America. Nevertheless, the productive system of globalization (global financial market) doesn’t allow them to add value in their economic chain of production, relegating them as mere extractive entities. This role of extraction actually does not benefit the countries that have the natural and energetic resources. Nonetheless, this approach can change substantially if in the productive chain we aggregate the value of technological knowledge and human capital, accompanied with industrial policies as a way to make a revolutionary approach on how the undeveloped countries can reach autonomy within the theory of endogenous development and economic protectionism. Going further in the process of framing my research, I wanted to focus on the cities, which during the expansion of colonial urbanism became focal points of production and urban development. Also considering and revisiting how the colonialism changed the means and notions of production that the native cultures developed during centuries. In conclusion, my research will focus in the ad hoc implementation of new technologies as an aggregate value within and against the current productive chain and the global market, in order to provide self-sufficiency and autonomy in the productive systems as an attempt to generate a new paradigm of city architecture in the middle cities of Latin America. 9

historical framework During the historical processes of civilizations, the morphology of cities has served as one of the most useful tools to study and analyze the social, political, economical, productive and cultural ethos of previous, and possibly, ulterior societies. The materialistic condition of the cities converge various abstract conceptions such as the political and the economical, whose dialectic foundation seize a common ground towards and within the city.

AURELI, Pier V. The Possibility of an Absolute Architecture. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 2011. AURELI, Pier V. The Project of Autonomy: Politics and Architecture within and against Capitalism. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008 CERDĂ&#x20AC;, Idelfonso. General Theory of Urbanization. Barcelona: Electra, 1992. ULLMANN, Walter. A History of Political Thought: The Middle Ages. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1965.

tribal times

> During the tribal times, the main ethos laid in the simple grouping of the individuals and a incipient division of labor; where the concepts of private property and city were not stablished 12

yet. Nevertheless, the division of labor had an acute distinction between the tribes, where the notion of production was intimately related of the primary need of subsistence.

AURELI, Pier V. The Possibility of an Absolute Architecture. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 2011. AURELI, Pier V. The Project of Autonomy: Politics and Architecture within and against Capitalism. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008 CERDĂ&#x20AC;, Idelfonso. General Theory of Urbanization. Barcelona: Electra, 1992. ULLMANN, Walter. A History of Political Thought: The Middle Ages. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1965.

mesopotamia

>Is in the Mesopotamian time, during the Assyrian and Babylonian empires that the concept of the city emerged and subsequently became an important component in everyday life. This cultures maintain the 14

agriculture as a principal productive source, and not but coincidence, they built their settlements near the rivers and the urban morphology responded directly to the approach of the irrigation channels.

AURELI, Pier V. The Possibility of an Absolute Architecture. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 2011. AURELI, Pier V. The Project of Autonomy: Politics and Architecture within and against Capitalism. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008 CERDÀ, Idelfonso. General Theory of Urbanization. Barcelona: Electra, 1992. ULLMANN, Walter. A History of Political Thought: The Middle Ages. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1965.

greek empire

> During the greek time, Aristotle defined the city in two different streams: the techne politike[referring to the public space] and the techne oikonomike[referring to the private space]. In this sense, the polis took the leading role in the social ethos of that time, becoming the “space of the many”. Is in this specific historical period where the political sense of the 16

city and its mere existence held the possibility of conflict and at the same time, the space for its resolution. “… The Greek polis can be described as an archipelago, not only because it took this geographical form, but also because the condition of insularity as a mode of relationships was its essential political form.” [Aureli:2011]

AURELI, Pier V. The Possibility of an Absolute Architecture. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 2011. AURELI, Pier V. The Project of Autonomy: Politics and Architecture within and against Capitalism. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008 CERDĂ&#x20AC;, Idelfonso. General Theory of Urbanization. Barcelona: Electra, 1992. ULLMANN, Walter. A History of Political Thought: The Middle Ages. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1965.

roman empire > Is during the roman empire, where the idea of the polis became distorted and disrupted. The urbs suddenly replaced the polis, but the paradigmatic approach dismantled the concept of the political within the city by replacing the concept of public with mere infrastructure, describing 18

a generic condition of protected cohabitation reducible to the principle of the house and its material necessities. In comparison with the polis, the urbs was not intended to be restricted, it expanded in the form of a territorial organization in which the roads played a crucial role.

AURELI, Pier V. The Possibility of an Absolute Architecture. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 2011. AURELI, Pier V. The Project of Autonomy: Politics and Architecture within and against Capitalism. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008 CERDĂ&#x20AC;, Idelfonso. General Theory of Urbanization. Barcelona: Electra, 1992. ULLMANN, Walter. A History of Political Thought: The Middle Ages. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1965.

medieval times > Is in the medieval time when the notion of the division of labor got strongly acute and divided the social activities in commercial, agricultural and proto-industrial. This division of labor created the famous dichotomy and resilient antagonism between the urban and the rural. The most harmful characteristic in this era 20

was undoubtedly the emergence of feudalism, which created hierarchical structures of territorial property. This depravation generated the emergence of the bourgeoisie, that took control of the urbs and its political measures and started the population outside the walls, the singularity of expansion.

AURELI, Pier V. The Possibility of an Absolute Architecture. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 2011. AURELI, Pier V. The Project of Autonomy: Politics and Architecture within and against Capitalism. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008 CERDĂ&#x20AC;, Idelfonso. General Theory of Urbanization. Barcelona: Electra, 1992. ULLMANN, Walter. A History of Political Thought: The Middle Ages. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1965.

renaissance > Is in this particular historical stage[birth of renaissance in Florence] where the architecture subjectivity took form within the modern history by makings attempts in order to create representations through architecture; not just by showing the city but also by creating a specific subject which increased the problem[subjectivity]. The mode of production that characterized this time was the shift 22

from and agrarian society to a proto industrial one, which was impulsed by the creation of modularity and perspective[Brunelleschi]. This particular event created and political and economical turmoil that produced the shift of the medieval city to a more controlable way[and expandable] of standardization and division of labor.

AURELI, Pier V. The Possibility of an Absolute Architecture. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 2011. AURELI, Pier V. The Project of Autonomy: Politics and Architecture within and against Capitalism. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008 CERDĂ&#x20AC;, Idelfonso. General Theory of Urbanization. Barcelona: Electra, 1992. ULLMANN, Walter. A History of Political Thought: The Middle Ages. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1965.

modernism > After the first industrial revolution, the publish of the General Theory of Urbanization[Cerda] and the Capital[Marx]; the notion of expansion and standardization got imprint in the social ethos, where the working class played an important role in the evolution of the capitalist apparatus. The cities were no longer filled with city architecture, they got drowned with urbanism. The criticism of urbanism lays in the shortening, 24

until the point of annihilation, of the political sense of the city. With the implementation of the welfare state(city) the subjectivity[working class] got totally under control and with no power of further response. This became a clear manifesto in the assembly line of the ford company, where the work of the human being was reduced to a monotone and repressive activity that kept them isolated and stunted.

AURELI, Pier V. The Possibility of an Absolute Architecture. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 2011. AURELI, Pier V. The Project of Autonomy: Politics and Architecture within and against Capitalism. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008 CERDĂ&#x20AC;, Idelfonso. General Theory of Urbanization. Barcelona: Electra, 1992. ULLMANN, Walter. A History of Political Thought: The Middle Ages. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1965.

contemporaneity > Is after the world war II where the working class challenged Germany, and the shift from heavy industry[material labor] to inmaterial labor[office space] occurred. This is well-known as the post-fordist era where the abstraction of the space created a new subject: the inmaterial 26

worker[office worker]. Is in this specific time where architecture played the role of materializing this new status quo. This creatio ex-nihilio got implemented in Berlin around the 1919 and the most significant agents were Mies Van der Rohe and Ludwig Hilberseimer.

economic framework In the previous analysis, the economical production system of south american countries was found centralized and not diversified. This status definitely fosters social turmoil and despair distribution of wealthiness. In this stage, the analysis is based in the social repercussions that the current productive system carries within its functioning. In the following maps we can identify all the natural and social devastation that the extractive economies are currently producing .

AURELI, Pier V. The Possibility of an Absolute Architecture. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 2011. CERDÀ, Idelfonso. General Theory of Urbanization. Barcelona: Electra, 1992.

american cities

> It is within this historical review and the criticism of urbanism as city planning and a way of governance that I tried to understand the genesis of this brilliant idea. It is pertinent to consider that Cerdà took a tremendous reference and background studies from Spanish civil engineers who were dedicated in the construction of roads. This “methodology” was first implemented in the American colonies that were subjugated by Spanish Viceroy. This checkerboard typology was instituted in America near the mining camps in order to settle, exploit and

educate the Native Americans in the religious and productive doings. This typology had the notion and the goal to create centralized focus of production and exploitation, in conclusion, to settle the workforce in order to extract all the commodities. > In the drawing below, I kindly borrowed the graphic representation of Pier Vittorio Aureli’s project “Stop City” to show how in different cities of South America the checkerboard typology was implemented, and predisposed the beginning of centralization and the

Feenstra, R. C., et al. (2005). World Trade Flows, 1962â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2000. NBER working paper 11040 BACI: International Trade Database at the ProductLevel. The 1994-2007 Version CEPII Working Paper, NÂ°2010-23, Octobre 2010 Guillaume Gaulier, Soledad Zignago HERNANDEZ, Rene/ MARTINEZ, Jorge and MULDER, Nanno. Global value chains and world trade: Prospects and challenges for Latin America. Santiago: ECLAC Books, 2014.

centralized economies

> After revising the historical context, I proceed to make an acuter study of the current situation of the countries that were under the domain of the Spanish Viceroy[Peru, Argentina,

Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia]. I studied their colonial imprints that still remain intact in the present days such as the centralized economies, the

Feenstra, R. C., et al. (2005). World Trade Flows, 1962– 2000. NBER working paper 11040 BACI: International Trade Database at the ProductLevel. The 1994-2007 Version CEPII Working Paper, N°2010-23, Octobre 2010 Guillaume Gaulier, Soledad Zignago HERNANDEZ, Rene/ MARTINEZ, Jorge and MULDER, Nanno. Global value chains and world trade: Prospects and challenges for Latin America. Santiago: ECLAC Books, 2014. MENDOZA, Francisco. Cordillera de Los Andes, una oportunidad para la integración y desarrollo de América del Sur. Santiago: FAO, 2014

andes

outsourcing of injustice and inequity, monoculture and the extraction of commodities as their main good for the global market’s interchange. In the following images I will show

these subjects of study with a more detailed explanation and at the same time I will rise the question if it’s possible to integrate these economies and societies, to diversify

extractive economies

the production and the aggregation of value in the economical chain of production inasmuch as the process of decentralization becomes an important catalyzer .

And if there is this possibility , are the Andes[chain of mountains that link geographically this countries] the tangible opportunity to achieve this feat?

+ contextual framework In the previous analysis, the economical production system of south american countries was found centralized and not diversified. This status definitely fosters social turmoil and despair distribution of wealthiness. In this stage, the analysis is based in the social repercussions that the current productive system carries within its functioning. In the following maps we can identify all the natural and social devastation that the extractive economies are currently producing .

HERNANDEZ, Rene/ MARTINEZ, Jorge and MULDER, Nanno. Global value chains and world trade: Prospects and challenges for Latin America. Santiago: ECLAC Books, 2014. MENDOZA, Francisco. Cordillera de Los Andes, una oportunidad para la integraciĂłn y desarrollo de AmĂŠrica del Sur. Santiago: FAO, 2014

extensive deforestation The flow layers related with deforestation and monoculture intersect their influence in the southern area of the continent. The extensive deforestation depredates huge amount of amazonic forest 46

carries within a depredating economy and productive system. The area that presents the biggest amount of these economies is concentrated around Rio Grande in Brazil.

extractive areas

The extractive areas in the continent are concentrated around the Andes Mountains. The huge amount of hydrocarbons and minerals catches the interest of big corporations that coincidentally manage all the 48

energetic and natural resources of various cities within the continent. These areas share the same productive, social and political context.

high pollution

The areas that registered the biggest number of air, water and soil pollution are disperse around the continent. Nevertheless, its presence overlaps the location of various 50

mining corporations. These extractive economies tend to jeopardize the quality of living of the community around it and its immediate natural surrounding.

industrial innuendo

This map shows us the deployment of different extractive companies around the continent. The vast majority of these corporations are private, operating against public interests. 52

This antagonism between the private agenda over the public resources polarizes communities and endangers their social dynamics towards the private means of production.

HERNANDEZ, Rene/ MARTINEZ, Jorge and MULDER, Nanno. Global value chains and world trade: Prospects and challenges for Latin America. Santiago: ECLAC Books, 2014. MENDOZA, Francisco. Cordillera de Los Andes, una oportunidad para la integración y desarrollo de América del Sur. Santiago: FAO, 2014

social affections The deployment of extractive companies and settlements provokes a counter effect that confronts the communities with the private companies. This map overlaps the location of extractive economies and 54

social syndicates that emerged as a counterforce. These environmental and social activists fight back the capitalist’s corporations over their rights, the environmental affections as well as their property.

waterfront appropriation The extractive economies not only settle ground in the countryside. The Pacific Ocean holds a huge amount of natural resources that are manage by private corporations with private interest. These practices 56

contaminate the water, depredate the local economies and endanger different animal species according to the market demands and through overfishing.

andean demography

The demography of the Andes Mountains is around 82 million people. Colombia concentrates the biggest amount of mountain population with almost 40 million people. Peru holds the second biggest 58

population with around 21 million people. The smallest population of mountain people is located in Argentina, with no more than 2 million people.

cattle rising

Cattle rising is one the oldest and most traditional economic and trade system in the native cultures. Peru holds the biggest camelid horde in the continent with around 6 million 60

heads of cattle. Followed by Bolivia with around 3 million head of cattle. The most common animals found are llamas, alpacas and vicunas.

gender and participation The rates of gender and participation are very disproportional. The amount of women in the continent is slightly bigger than men. Nevertheless, the best work opportunities inside the extractive economies favors the male 62

due to the huge amount of labor force that demands this type of activity. The role played by the woman in this productive system is neither adequate nor challenging.

habitational dichotomy The tangible and historical antagonism between the city and countryside becomes the reflection of the current economic and productive system. Where the concentration of the labor force and depredation takes places in the countryside. The 64

management and the distribution of wealth occurs towards and within the city that concentrates more than the 80% of the wealth, 50% of the population and only occupies the 2% of the surface.

hot&cold surfaces The huge amount of ecosystems and climates around the Andes Mountains concentrates the attention around the globe. Despite the huge amount of surface, the continent does not occupy a vast part of it. This 66

singularity is based on the huger square kilometers that are cover with glaciers and mountains. Mostly concentrated around the south of Chile and Argentina.

mountain surface

The mountainous condition of the continent serves as a constant source of water and minerals. Some countries like Argentina have around 3 million square meters of the Andean macro 68

zone that represents around the 19% of its entire surface. The country with the biggest Andean macro zone is Peru, which represents the 64% of its surface.

HERNANDEZ, Rene/ MARTINEZ, Jorge and MULDER, Nanno. Global value chains and world trade: Prospects and challenges for Latin America. Santiago: ECLAC Books, 2014. MENDOZA, Francisco. Cordillera de Los Andes, una oportunidad para la integración y desarrollo de América del Sur. Santiago: FAO, 2014

protected areas Due to its large amount of natural and energetic resources, as well as its various ecosystems; the continent holds tremendous amounts of protected surfaces. The 27% of the Peruvian territory in considered 70

“under protection”, the same as the 30% of the entire Chilean surface. Nevertheless, many of these protected areas have been damaged or endanger due to the affluence of minerals and hydrocarbons.

water availability The Andes Mountains hold a various number of rivers and water resources spread around the continent. Nevertheless, extractive economies and mining companies require millions of liters of water 72

for processing minerals and hydrocarbons. This problematic transforms a vast resource into a scar condition. The availability of water becomes a luxury instead of a human right.

Co2 emissions The measurements of Co2 emissions in the continent are concentrated mainly around the Andes Mountains. The cities that carry the highest rates of pollution host mining companies. This particular economy reflects 74

directly on the natural environment, damaging the natural conditions and ecosystems. Carrying within social decay and big amounts of waste production per capita.

radiation

In terms of solar radiation, the distribution of its impact is mainly uniform around the continent. Having the biggest measurements in Ecuador and Argentina. On the other 76

hand, the areas with the lowest solar radiation are located in the south of Chile and in the east of Brazil as well as the center or Bolivia near the South of Peru.

HERNANDEZ, Rene/ MARTINEZ, Jorge and MULDER, Nanno. Global value chains and world trade: Prospects and challenges for Latin America. Santiago: ECLAC Books, 2014. MENDOZA, Francisco. Cordillera de Los Andes, una oportunidad para la integración y desarrollo de América del Sur. Santiago: FAO, 2014 The World Radiation Data Centre (WRDC) // GFS (Global Forecast System)

wind flow

The capacity and wind flow over the continent’s surface varies significantly towards its vast extension. The highest measurements rates are located in the south of Chile reaching around 20 78

mph, followed by the southern part of Brazil. The Amazonic area of Brazil and Peru hold the lowest rates of wind flow in the overall surface with around 08 mph.

case studies >In the next diagrams, I bring forward the analysis by selecting five different cities within the South American continent and studying them with the methodology of radius of influence by Hugh Barton. Where we can note the total urban disruption between public and private services within the different cities.

AURELI, Pier V. The Possibility of an Absolute Architecture. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 2011. AURELI, Pier V. The Project of Autonomy: Politics and Architecture within and against Capitalism. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008 ARENDT, Ana. The Promise of Politics. New York: Schocken Books, 2005. SCHMIDT, Carl. The Concept of the Political. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996 TAFURI, Manfredo. Lavoro intellettuale e sviluppo capitalistico. Contropiano, February 1970, 2/70, 241–281. CAVALLETTI, Andrea. La Città Biopolitica: Mitologie della sicureza. Milan: Bruno Mondadori, 2005

Through the study of the different cities around the South American continent, we can identify the negative similarities and the possibilities that all this places carry within its productive and economic system. The ancient social and economic problematic that arose centuries ago is still tangible in the political and morphological conformation of habitation means. The dialectic conception of the urban and rural condition has antagonized both realities into a constant an tortuous confrontation. The enormous economic, productive and social concentration and convergence of different dynamics within the city are very knowledgeable and well studied during the last decades. The city has become the object and subject of study, the urbanism as an ad hoc doctrine, which evolves, mutates and refines against time and through capitalism. The Spanish engineer Idelfons Cerda, who legitimized his invention as a conceptual feature of a paradigm, introduced the word urbanization. This paradigm was the condition of limitlessness and the integration and communication featured by capitalism (Aureli: 2011). This new conception that redefined the city and acted as a managerial process and a efficient way of city governance brought up a new social model based on its annihilation. Urbanism was not seeking for a political endeavor but was reaching for a economical one; paradoxically the economical spectrum acted politically. The urban forces nowadays concentrate more that the 50% of the global population, consume the 75% of the produced energy and emits the 80% of the earth CO2 (Census Bureau:2016). All these matters occur in the 2% of the globe, leaving the counter space of the city - the countryside- with the 98% of the surface available, but hopefully not available for more global urbanization. In the past decade, the capitalist apparatus has focused its entire interest in the production and specialization of the urban model bringing disastrous results such as increasing social inequity, inefficient wealth distribution, alarming poverty and social polarization and antagonism. Facing this scenario of infinite urbanization - which today is no longer just theory but daily practice- I would argue that the time has come to drastically counter the very idea of urbanization.(Aureli:2011) Recent studies carried by AMO/OMA indicate the vast - economic- possibilities that lay beyond the countryside. In the digital era, the topologies of architecture not only foster mutation or evolution but mostly emergence. These new platforms that host the digital spectrum demand vast spaces of

functioning and storage, which are no longer viable to harbor in the city. This happening in the countryside does not imply any different scenario of the urban condition but the newest aspiration of the capitalist apparatus towards its digital headway. The emergence of the countryside in the global scene does not question the originating problematical scenario, but embraces the status quo of political annihilation in the means of inhabitation and its economic nature. The social and economic structure in force invites the non-political sense of the city as a symptom of self-control and regulation. Nevertheless, as Aureli writes, “The sphere of the political is the sphere in which a part, a group of individuals, acquires knowledge of itself in the form of knowing what it is, what it ought to be, what it wants, and what it does not want. The political cannot be reduced to conflict per se; it indicates the possibility of conflict and as such calls for its solution.” The cities selected correspond to the countries, which its natural and energetic resources have spotted a potential and peremptory opportunity to drive extractive economies without taking into account the environmental and social impacts. Most of the biggest energetic and oil corporations undergo a social, economic and environmental decay driven by its economy. All of the selected cities share alarming social indicators such as poverty, illiteracy, inequity, unemployment and poor quality of living. This typology of economic exploitation reflects colonial imprints in the continent, most of the cities studies during this part of the research correspond to the ancient viceroy centers. These cities emerged as a place to host the labor force that will work in the mining scenario. The predominant culture of the continent Incas - was famous because of its distributive economy. The worldview of the Incas did not allowed them to built in plain surfaces; they believed that the flat areas were sacred and were not inhabited. Their main productive system was based in agriculture and trading that was developed in the prairie. When the Spanish viceroy implanted its colonies, the productive system shifted to mercantilism and protectionism. The mountains, where near 10 million people lived, were looted and one of the biggest genocide episodes took place due to a productive shift. The historical disruption is still tangible in cities like Cajamarca (Peru), Catamarca and Salta (Argentina), Calama (Chile) and Potosi (Bolivia). These cities represent the incipient reference for Cerda and his General Theory of Urbanization, the layout of colonial cities as the contemporary dogma for city planning and its productive economy.

-Extractive Economies-

Annihilation of the social spectrum Lattice of territorial development Productive and economic sluggishness

In 2001 Catamarca was the province with the lowest level of poverty in the whole Argentinian north. On the opposite TucumĂĄn, whose economy was the most dynamic of the Region had a superior percentage of poor homes. Taking for granted a strong link between economical processes and poverty, and that labor difficulties are an important component in that relationship, the article analyzes how the lower levels of poverty in CatamarcaÂ´s population were consequence of being less affected than Tucumanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population by regressive productive transformations and 84

the employment problems(Osatinsky 2011). Assessments of the incidence of poverty and indigence in Catamarca in the first half of 2013 show considerable disparities depending on whether measurements are taken as reference for official or private organizations. In that regard, according to data released by the Permanent Household Survey (EPH), compiled by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (Indec) for the first half of 2013, 6.6 percent of the provincial population was under the poverty line, while 0.7 percent under the indigence.

CATAMARCA Photograph: J.Lazarte

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> After revising the historical context, I proceed to make an acuter study of the current situation of the countries that were under the domain of the Spanish Viceroy[Peru, Argentina,

Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia]. I studied their colonial imprints that still remain intact in the present days such as the centralized economies, 93

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The inhabitants of the northern Chilean mining region of Antofagasta have the highest per capita income in the country. But some 4,000 local families continue to live in slums â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a reflection of one of the most marked situations of inequality in this country. In the municipality of Calama, where the city is located, there are 37 mining operations. One of them is the Chuquicamata mine, the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest open-pit copper mine. The region of Antofagasta has the highest GDP per capita the country, the highest level of economic growth, and the best conditions for achieving development, according to 100

a study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Official figures indicate that this region of 625,000 people has an average per capita income of 37,205 dollars a year, nearly eight times the average per capita income of the southern region of AraucanĂa, which is just 4,500 dollars. The national average in this country of 17.6 million people is 23,165 dollars. However, 45,000 people are living in poverty in Antofagasta, including 4,000 in extreme poverty. (IPS Article 11-09-2015 by Marianela Jarroud)

CALAMA Photograph: Alobos Life

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A life expectancy of 40 years, poverty and resignation are three corners of a vicious triangle for miners at Potosi, whose silver financed the Spanish Empire but has done little to improve the lot of local inhabitants. Most of the miners, which has 619 pitheads, continue to toil for little pay under extremely unsafe working conditions. The standard of living in Potosi, the southern highland city at the foot of the mountain, remains much the same as it was for miners of previous generations. Development of the Cerro deposit began in 1545 and over the centuries millions of Indians and African slaves worked 116

under conditions of forced labor, producing tens of thousands of tons silver for the Spanish Empire. Tin and zinc extracted from the mine has become important in more recent times. Currently, some 10,000 miners toil below ground, using dynamite to create tunnels and extracting at least 2,000 tons of mineral-laden earth per day. Conditions remain brutal, with most of the miners dying of various lung-related illnesses in their 40s, and mine drainage takes a devastating toll on the environment, making Potosi one of the most polluted places on Earth. (LA Herald Tribune Article by Javier Aliaga)

POTOSI Photograph: Karo Maza

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Salta is the poorest province in the country, with 28.6 percent of its population unable to meet basic needs, while Buenos Aires City is at the other side of the spectrum with just five percent of population considered poor, a report by the Labour and Economic Development Studies Centre (IELDE) of Saltaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National University reported. Some 34 percent of Saltaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s households are built in precarious conditions, while one out of four do not have bathrooms or kitchens in adequate conditions, IELDE said. Meanwhile, 16 percent of households in the 130

province ruled by Governor Juan Manuel Urtubey lack drinking water and 21 percent suffer from overcrowding (more than three people living in one room), the report added. The province also has a high percentage of families living close to a rubbish tip and more than one out of four inhabitants living in floodable areas, more than during the two previous years. Measured by those standards, urban areas in Salta are the poorest in the country.( Buenos Aires Herald Article 25-03-2014).

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Photograph: Santiago Ibarra

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cajamarca paradox In this new stage of the research, I decided to make a further investigation on Cajamarca, located in Peru. This city actually has the biggest GDP incomes and at the same time, the highest rates of illiteracy, poverty, pollution and social decay. These contradictory values represent and show how an economical system based on commodities (extractive system) is actually undermining the development of the city and is causing tremendous social affections.

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As an attempt to delve into the problematic of the extractive economies, I chose a Peruvian city whose main production system is based on commodities, related to the extraction of minerals, hydrocarbon and raw matter. The GDP of this city once reached nearly US$7.5 billion. Nevertheless, the city presents a poverty rate of 64% and 29% of extreme poverty. The paradox lies in the notion that the city actually doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have an economic problem, but a political one. The productive policies emphasize the extractive economies, along with their social and environmental repercussions, over diversification. These policies produce a lack of potable 148

water and irrigation systems in a city that is crossed by rivers and where 70% of the population is dedicated to agriculture. The mine that is located in the north of the city works as an attractor point for the social and economic dynamics that are concentrated mostly around the main square of the city. Its fragmented distribution and centralization represents a banal copy of the current economic system. The distributive policies of the city are not only absurd, but also paradoxical. Following the morphological study of the city, the diagnosis reveals a dependence on extractive economies, an alarming social detriment, and disablement of the energetic resources.

CAJAMARCA Photograph: Yanacocha mine blog

Peru’s problems stem from a complex mix of history, discrimination, corruption, and lack of government capacity. Mining – and the problems it engenders – is therefore woven into the national culture. Peru’s modern economic elite evolved around mining — originally the mining of guano (petrified bird crap), but later evolving into industrial production of gold and copper. It’s worth remembering that Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro, who famously brought down the Inca Empire in an epic battle in Cajamarca, went to Peru in search of El Dorado – the lost city of gold. Why wouldn’t Peruvians develop a deep sense of fatalism about how things are? A Peruvian anthropologist cited the current situation

in Madre de Dios as an example, where the pristine Amazon rainforest there has been utterly devastated by informal miners. The government has only belatedly tried to do something about it, because according to my friend, everyone in upper reaches of government is getting money from these illegal mining operations. Even President Humala himself was accused of financing his presidential campaign with funds from illegal mining two weeks ago. The Humala administration’s proposal of measures to weaken the authority of Peru’s environmental ministry to enforce mining regulations last week has raised further doubts about the Peruvian government’s 149

commitment to making positive changes in the mining sector. There is thus a sense in mining communities that nothing can be changed and that they simply aren’t going to benefit from Peru’s mineral wealth. Local government and mining company officials sometimes play into this by trying to buy off communities with bottles of beer. Do they hope people will be too inebriated to demand better governance and better delivery of essential services? Regardless, there is growing consciousness among these communities. Violent protests around extractive operations and the opening up of territories and destruction of natural resources – as in the Bagua massacre in 2009 150

or the shooting of protestors in Espinar in 2012—suggest that frustrations have been rising to a boiling point over the last few years. A key challenge though remains how to channel frustration and concern about impacts into constructive demands, not only for immediate compensatory measures, but for better governance. Oxfam in Peru have been thinking about this “beer” problem— how do we encourage people say “no” to beers and “sí” to education, health care, infrastructure, and agriculture? (Oxfam America Article 24-06-2014 by Keith Slack). The status quo of the city claims for a productive and economic reconversion, the endogenous development is still incipient,

the natural and energetic resources are vast but misused, then again it is not an economic problem but a political one. The city governance and all the managerial processes that are included in the economic structure jeopardize the capacity and capability of citizens to evolve not only productively and economically but also socially. Social confrontation between local authorities, the central government and communities is becoming more acute and more complex in time. The processes of global urbanization are no longer viable and the processes of desurbanization are now taking place. The people who can leave to the capital - Lima arrive in an already condensed and densified

metropolis, the rest stays in a city that is slowly dying from hunger, poverty, inequity and alarming indifference that appears within the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dynamics remaining colonial imprints as an anachronical condition. Instead of dreaming of a perfectly integrated society that can only be achieved as the supreme realization of urbanization and its avatar, capitalism, an absolute architecture must recognize the political separateness that can potentially. Within the sea of global urbanization, be manifest through the borders that define the possibility of the city. (Aureli: 2011). What is then needed for the city that incarnates the paradox itself? Is it logics or just mere congruence? 151

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