Unfolded landscapes: X-ray of a Latin American urban condition

Abstract

The contemporary urban landscape is characterized by the juxtaposition, fragmentation and replacement of the natural environment and the own constructed weave. Urban growth happens due to accelerated evolution processes, which create complex interactions between its inhabitants and the land. These processes have affected and increased the demands of all kind on the ground such as mobility, infrastructure and urban landscape itself. In Latin American cities, urban landscapes are planned and built under a socioeconomic system where the exclusion of some prevails against the starring of others. The metropolises are mixed-up social-spacial structures, creating fragmented and heterogeneous urban landscapes. The condition of the divided city, that splits to isolate itselfin private neighborhoods of different social classes. This is the topic of the present article.

Key words: townscape, popular habitat, urban design.