The footprint of private urbanization. Ecology of the gated communities in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area.

Abstract

A type of private urbanization (gated communities), designed for the upper class, is being developed in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires. They are usually located on livestock and agricultural land, interstitial spaces or natural areas well connected by highways to the city of Buenos Aires. Several aspects of this private urbanization, some of them intrinsic to certain urban lifestyles, produce a disruption of natural ecosystem services, especially at the interface among the Paraná River Delta, the pampean system and the estuary of the Río de la Plata. The most affected services are hydric regulation, soil fertility and biodiversity. In addition, the consumption and mobility patterns of this model of urbanization have ecosystemics implications in the energy flow, water cycle and waste flow.