Urban Sports Culture: A New Football Statium for Boca Juniors in Buenos Aires

Introduction — Background and Contextual parameters1) The Physical Context. The UBA-FAU\’s \”Area Sur\” Study: A study is currently being carried out by a research team at the Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo (FAU) of the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA). It focuses on the Area Sur of the city, one of its most neglected. For this large sector, (which contains the two first historical settlements of the city, the seats of both the national and municipal government and the largest working and lower middle class residential areas), the UBA study is surveying, inventorying and analyzing its physical conditions and needs aiming at generating a series of planning strategies for the provision and up-grade of urban infrastructural equipment (i.e. transportation, public spaces, institutional, recreational, etc.). This group would end its first year of work in November 2007, and will commence its second at the beginnings of Argentina\’s next academic year (March 2008). All material produced are to be reviewed by Prof. Silvetti during his visit to Buenos Aires in November 07. This material will be available to the GSD studio. (see Appendix I for more information about this group\’s research).2) The Political Context. The impending political change in the administration of the city: While Buenos Aires has had a primordial role in the history of the country, it is not until eleven years ago that it became a truly independent political and administrative entity when its excecutive branch could be freely elected by its own citizens for the first time in its history[1]. The still evolving dynamics created by the new democratic relationships among the central government, the city administration and the citizens has energized them all in a campaign promoting major interventions long overdue. A new city administration, recently voted in by an overwhelming majority (69% of the popular vote) will assume functions in December 2007 and is already announcing its intentions to concentrate all their major urban interventions in the \”Sector Sur\” of the city. In parallel to this the new President of the Republic is being elected as this proposal is written. Thus, an entirely new political constellation of forces is about to be deployed in the arena of Buenos Aires, with both the cohabitant governments bidding for the transformation of this capital into a twenty first century metropolis. In the face of non-existing plans the need for intelligent proposals, demonstrations and examples is extreme.[1] Before the mayor was appointed by the President of Argentina.