<i>On the bank of the river</i>. The port-city relation in the urban transformation of Rosario

Abstract

The riverbank of the Paraná is the main factor of the formation and transformation of Rosario, since it is because the river functions as a cultural corridor and a communication path that the city-port was established. The productive processes linked to this riverfront are key components in urban settings since its origins and its traces continue to be active in contemporary processes that take place in the city and its region. However, the relationship between port facilities and urban development has generated numerous complaints and discussions since the beginning of the 20th century. Therefore, population discontent manifests itself through the existing disconnection between the city and the river, because of the barrier that these infrastructures generate in the central area. Nevertheless, despite repeated proposals, plans and discussions, it is only since the return of democracy in 1983 that a network of factors occured that make it possible to begin long-awaited port railway restructuring of the riverfront. Thus, in recent decades the conversion of the central coast of Rosario has been happening enabling a riverbank recovery from a new perspective on public space and the existing heritage footprints.