The prestigious journal Environment & Urbanization has recently published a synthesis of the research carried out by the Observatory on Latin America with the support of Chalmers University of Gothenburg and the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA). The article seeks to explain why some popular neighborhoods in the city of Buenos Aires have had a more effective response to COVID-19 than others. For this, the actions that took place between March and October 2020 in the neighborhoods of Villa 20, Villa 15 and Villa 1-11-14 are compared.
Title: COVID-19 in Real Time: Comparing the Struggle of Three Low-Income Neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires
Authors: Michael Cohen, Margarita Gutman, Matias Ruiz Díaz, María Belén Fodde, Cecilia Cabrera, Bárbara Mora Doldan, Carolina Diaz
Link: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09562478211060687
Environment and Urbanization. January 2022. doi:10.1177/09562478211060687
SUMMARY
This article seeks to explain why some popular neighborhoods in Buenos Aires have responded more effectively than others to COVID-19. It compares actions that took place between March and October 2020 in the neighborhoods of Villa 20, Villa 15 and Villa 1-11-14. We analyze public policies carried out by government agencies, especially the Instituto de Vivienda de la Ciudad (IVC) and the Ministerio de Desarrollo Humano y Hábitat (MDHyH), and the active collaboration of local organizations. While significant scholarship has focused on COVID-19 effects and coping strategies in Latin American neighborhoods, there is limited analysis of how pre-existing relationships between local actors and government agencies have shaped neighborhood responses. This comparative analysis shows that in fact the consolidation and depth of historical working relations between local government and local organizations determined the response capacity of each informal neighborhood.
Tags: Articles, Covid19, Health, Inequity, News, Public Management, Public Policy, Research, Urban Inequity, Vulnerability
