Sure, who doesn't want x, y and z?

In the last several years in the United States, urban revitalization has definitely taken center stage politically, economically and socially in many ways. Whether it's revitalizing specific neighborhoods that have somehow fallen by the wayside in a city's development or doing anything possible to resuscitate an entire city that seems to be lagging on many fronts (Detroit is the first metropolitan area that comes to mind in this category), urban (re)development is a buzzword for some great current events conversation. Closest to my home, there have been major efforts to renovate old venues and open brand new ones in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Columbus, Ohio is seeing major bridge construction on both the West Main Street bridge and the Rich Street bridge (to replace the old Town Street bridge) that will hopefully encourage pedestrian traffic in the city and reconnect neighborhoods that have been isolated for some time. And Ohio governor John Kasich has definitely weathered a harsh wave of resentment for turning down $400 million last fall, from the federal government, to be put towards a high-speed railway between Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland. Of course I learned about similar plans of action in Indianapolis when I lived there in the summer of 2009, and we can read about other economic and cultural renovations of other urban areas, large and small, every day in the news.

Thus, it didn't really surprise me when I picked up a sort of magazine that had been dropped off in my front lawn the other day that was titled Vecinos and featured Resistencia mayor, Aída Ayala's plans for full-city renovations. Inside I found general plans for Resistencia's urban development, supposedly all achievable by 2020, divided into four main branches: "infrastructure for development, a city of social inclusion, Resistencia as a city of culture, and economic development." I can definitely see good things happening as far as development in this city. With president Cristina Kirchner's recent visit there were some sorely-needed road repairs that were completed. Another recent project that I have noticed is the reconstruction of curbside corners to be more wheelchair accessible. Having worked in a center for adults with developmental disabilities just before coming to Argentina, sidewalk construction generally was something that I took note of shortly after arriving. Sidewalks here in Resistencia are generally very wide and thus, accommodating for several people to walk side by side. However, sidewalks here, which tend to be constructed with tile, also tend to be deathly uneven, both in front of a singular property where you might find tiles loose and in between properties where there might be up to a foot or foot and a half of height difference. So, while I'm ecstatic to see that the city is beginning to recognize the needs of its population with different mobility needs, I also am left wondering how someone who has mobility concerns or who is in a wheelchair could independently get themselves from place to place in Resistencia.

I'd also like to share briefly a section that had me close to laughing out loud in my room as I read it. I got to the end of this article (loosely translated below) in the "Resistencia: A City of Social Inclusion" section and thought, yeah, let's all just join hands and sing "Kumbaya" and life will be good here in Resistencia.  But don't let me influence your opinion; read it for yourself (i.e. read my translation) and see if you agree:
"Eco Clubs With the implementation of Eco clubs/communities, spaces of participation and citizenship formation will be created and expanded in neighborhoods, in which children, young adults, and senior citizens will participate in/carry out activities that allow them to go beyond being merely inhabitants to being citizens engaged with issues of health, society and the environment.
For children the Eco communities will offer recreational and cultural activities related to ecology, care of the environment, education and road/street safety. Additionally, the communities will function as childcare facilities that will allow their parents to carry out other activities with certainty that their sons and daughters are in a safe environment.
The communities will encourage the civic participation of young people with workshops in topics of their interests and through the organization of united activities.
Taking into account that reaching old age is the peak of one's life, the development committee also thought about/planned the Eco communities for senior citizens, where older adults will collaborate in the teaching of children and adolescents, as in the case of grandparents telling stories, and additionally they will carry out recreational activities and participate in discussions about their own interests related to being old."

There you have it, Resistencia's 4-H, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Pee-wee soccer, community playground, nursery/childcare, special interest clubs for teenagers, community historical center, and senior citizens center all rolled into one! Don't get me wrong, I think theoretically this is a superb idea for a living-learning community, but I don't really see an infrastructure present right now that would support the construction of the aforementioned community. Nonetheless, accompanying this article is a computer-generated image of what one of these Eco communities might look like as well as a small map of the city with 13 small flags marking the proposed communities' distribution.

Other interesting things from this magazine that I have greater faith will actually come to fruition (if the people of Resistencia demand them of their elected officials): a costanera (a wide, paved walkway) along the Rio Negro (I believe in this primarily because of the Resistencia-Corrientes rivalry and that Corrientes has a pretty nice costanera), a second bridge across the river Panamá to Corrientes, many of the road construction projects within the city, and the construction of some additional industrial plants/areas in and around the city. And, of course, politics plays a huge role in the distribution of this Vecinos publication. You can see mayor Aída Ayala dominating the front cover here:

Yes, I think she's a bit scary-looking (and I think many of my students would agree with me) but that's a conversation for another day. My point to be made about political agendas is that Mayor Ayala's picture appears 7 times in the 18 pages of the publication (including the front cover) and 8 of these same 18 pages feature stories on development that she has headed or extended speeches that she has given regarding the importance of the development plans. For better or for worse, I have observed that politicians' vested interests in the community to win votes is much more transparent in Argentina, and legal in many more ways, than in the United States. I suppose we (Argentine and North Americans) share numerous desires for improvements in our quality of life; how we plan to get there is the culturally relevant, and truly fascinating, piece in the puzzle of our lives.