Paper Short Abstract:

Since the installation of a perimeter route in Villa García, the area has undergone a series of transformations, which have effects on those who live there. In this paper I propose to analyse to what extent these transformations have impacted the ways of living.

Paper Abstract:

Villa García is an old urban centre in a rural area at the periphery of Montevideo, in Uruguay, that it is located 21 km from the centre of the city.

In the last 30 years, a series of changes in urban infrastructure, which include the construction of a perimeter route that connects port and airport, as well as the main routes of the country, have created a series of transformation in the area, that includes that the area has turned a neighbourhood of Montevideo.

The installation of a free zone, a stadium and a university unit (the veterinary school) has caused a progressive transformation that includes the increase of urban public transport in the area, which still remains deficient. A flow of workers and students who come to the area from Monday to Friday join the inhabitants of Villa García, saturating the transportation available during peak hours. In return, the availability of frequencies has increased.

While the area is increasing in services, several informal settlements have been created and increased their population in the last decades. As a result, almost half of the inhabitants of this neighbourhood live on an “informal” condition regarding their legal land tenure situation.

As part of my PhD research, I would like to share and exchange ideas around the transformations in Villa García since the installation of these infrastructures.