A CITY AND ITS RIVER: RECONNECTING BUENOS AIRES TO EL RIO DE LA PLATA

Abstract

Buenos Aires owes much of its identity to El Río de la Plata, yet its connection to the riverfront has repeatedly been disrupted by institutional priorities that prioritized utilitarian uses over public life. Over centuries, governments and businesses used the shoreline as a defensive line, an engine of economic growth, and a corridor for railways, docks, ports, and highways. These interventions rendered much of the coast inaccessible, gradually weakening the public life found near the waterfront.Today, while traces of that public memory remain, most of the city’s ten-mile shoreline remains out of reach. Recent urban interventions in the northern coast, near Vicente López, have begun to restore activity and access. However, the southern coast continues to be neglected, despite its deep historical significance and its concentration of important urban artifacts. Along this stretch, the city’s layers are visible: the Casa Rosada and its surroundings evoke the founding of Buenos Aires; Puerto Madero tells a story of economic transformation, evolving from a historic port to a modern commercial district; the silos, positioned within Puerto Madero, mark a pivotal industrial legacy and stand as a potential new threshold for public life; and the Ecological Reserve, now the city’s largest green space, stands as a testament to renewal, reclaiming land once used for dumping and restoring native ecology. Beneath these urban layers, the southern coast is also defined by a sequence of historic shorelines: the original edge once lay outside the Casa Rosada, then shifted to the area of Puerto Madero, and later even extended to the balneario municipal, which is now where the Ecological Reserve entrance is. This sequence of urban fragments, previous coastlines, and evolving public spaces forms the foundation for an urban promenade that could reconnect Buenos Aires to its river. This thesis asks: How can the creation of a continuous promenade along the southern coast, linking the Casa Rosada, Puerto Madero, and the Ecological Reserve, restore public access, revive historic shorelines, and foster a renewed sense of community along the Río de la Plata?