Construction and transformations of Abasto, 1889-1998

Abstract

The period covered by this article begins with the construction of the area of Abasto in the city of Buenos Aires, unfolded by the foundation of the Market of Abasto in 1889, and concludes with its last transformation triggered by the conversion of the old central market into the Abasto de Buenos Aires Shopping Center opened in 1998. The case of Abasto provides a remarkable example that allows to examine a number of key moments in the history of the city. Starting from a foundational period, which began in the last decades of the nineteenth century, when the current barrios of Buenos Aires were laid out as the first periphery of the new metropolis, until the urban transformations in the end of the twentieth century within the frame of the implementation of a neoliberal agenda in the city. The analysis of Abasto, as a witness case, enables us to tackle a series of questions associated with several of the most engaging debates in urban studies of the last decades, such as the import/export of typologies between the center and periphery, the impact of globalization in cities and the question of urban fragmentation. The aim of this paper is to explore these themes, and especially to compare the different and diverse projects proposed for the renewal of this area throughout its history, including the last “Abasto project” that was built.