It’s no secret that we start being a little cramped in cities. According to estimations, by 2050 more than two-thirds of the world’s population will be living in them. This global urbanization trend brings with it a host of socioecological challenges, such as ensuring equitable access to resources and safe and affordable housing. These issues are even more pronounced  in megacities like Buenos Aires, where high population density drives the demand for limited resources, and exacerbates the need for governance measures aimed at redistribution and inclusion for the city’s most vulnerable communities.

Fortunately, not everything is bad news. The informal settlement – villa miseria as they are known– of Rodrigo Bueno in the Argentinian capital has become a case study in participatory urban planning for sustainable urban development. Nearly ten years ago, a new municipal approach for the neighborhood was adopted, fostering inclusion, participation, and a sense of agency among its residents (perhaps a more grounded term for “empowerment”?), who have since experienced transformative social, economic, housing, and environmental impacts. Like many self-constructed villas miseria, Rodrigo Bueno’s inhabitants were long affected by precarious housing and limited access to essential services such as energy or electricity. Residents had a well-known history of effective community organization to resist attempts at eviction by the municipality to redevelop the area (also perhaps a nicer phrasing for “urban exclusion”).  After a decade of legal battles, a change in the city government in 2016 led the local housing agency, the Instituto de Vivienda, to spearhead efforts to connect housing interventions with social and economic programs, ultimately benefiting over 70,000 residents. Something unique about Rodrigo Bueno is its proximity to the Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve, a 350-hectare biodiversity haven. Leveraging this, the city offered training workshops on gardening and agriculture for residents, resulting in the creation of La Vivera Orgánica, a community-led nursery that grows native species from the adjacent wetlands and supplies fresh produce—a lifeline for many during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Another example of the participatory approach implemented in the neighborhood was a mobility and safety mapping initiative conducted by Cambalache, a geographic cooperative. It engaged groups of resident women in tracing their main destinations and routes from their perception.

Today, Rodrigo Bueno is far from a wealthy neighborhood, but it can now be called a barrio rather than a villa miseria. The collaborative experience of the area’s urban transformation has contributed to shifting expertise from municipal officers to residents. In doing so, it has redefined their role from “informal” to “active” citizens and transformed their neighborhood into a scenario for wider social change.