Gran Buenos Aires
Gran Buenos Aires (GBA for short) is the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires , the capital of Argentina . It stretches about 100 km along the banks of the Río de la Plata , with a maximum width of 40 km.
According to the 2010 census, the area has between 12.8 and 14.4 million inhabitants, depending on the definition. 2.9 million of these are attributable to the city of Buenos Aires itself, another 9.9 million to 24 Partidos , which are assigned to Gran Buenos Aires by the Federal Statistics Office INDEC . A further definition used by the Province of Buenos Aires includes the 0.8 million inhabitants of the three Partidos of Greater La Plata and the 0.8 million of six other Partidos bordering on traditional Gran Buenos Aires.
Gran Buenos Aires is one of the largest metropolitan regions in Latin America . In the smallest definition, it ranks fourth behind the metropolitan areas of Mexico City , São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro . If you include the extended catchment area, Gran Buenos Aires comes in third, ahead of the agglomeration of Rio de Janeiro. Around 30 to 35% of the country's population live in this metropolitan area.
Despite the high number of inhabitants and population density, unlike other megacities, the region is not plagued by overpopulation and the associated infrastructure problems, as its population is only growing slowly and overall tends towards deconcentration and urban sprawl , and in some cases towards urban evacuation. The negative consequence of this development, however, is a very high level of landscape consumption and the rapid urbanization of fertile areas that have previously been used by agriculture. Attempts are being made to counteract this by increasing the number of green spaces and nature reserves.
Expansion and population
According to the Argentine statistical office INDEC , the Gran Buenos Aires consists of the urban area itself, called Capital Federal or Distrito Federal, as well as 24 Partidos from the province of Buenos Aires . The Partidos are comparable to counties, but they have only one municipality in the province of Buenos Aires and are therefore often referred to as cities, even if they are divided into several localities.
The area - marked in blue on the map above - has an area of 3,880 square kilometers. About 65% of this area is continuously built up, the rest is largely made up of the islands of the Paraná delta, which belong to the Partido San Fernando , and the agricultural areas of the outer Partidos.
The population is composed of the 2,890,151 of Buenos Aires itself and the 9,916,715 of the 24 Partidos and is thus 12,806,866 (data from the last census in 2010). The population density is 3300.7 inhabitants per square kilometer.
Classification
After Partidos
The Gran Buenos Aires is divided into 24 partidos, another 9 partidos are part of the enlarged metropolitan area, the Aglomerado Metropolitano Buenos Aires (AMBA) or Aglomerado Metropolitano Gran Buenos Aires (AMGBA) . Then there is the Partido Cañuelas, a small part of which belongs to the agglomeration.
- Remarks
- ^ A b Almirante Brown and Presidente Perón formed a joint Partido Almirante Brown until 1993.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Areas that do not belong to Gran Buenos Aires, but to AMBA.
- ↑ a b c According to INDEC, only a small part of La Plata belongs to Gran Buenos Aires. Often, however, the entire metropolitan area is included in a superordinate agglomeration called Buenos Aires - La Plata with a total of around 13.5 million inhabitants, which also includes the Partidos Berisso and Ensenada .
- ↑ a b Esteban Echeverría and Ezeiza formed a joint Partido Esteban Echeverría until 1994.
- ↑ a b c Morón, Hurlingham and Ituzaingó formed a common Partido Morón until 1994.
- ↑ a b c San Miguel, José C. Paz and Malvinas Argentinas formed a joint Partido General Sarmiento until 1994.
- ^ The city of Temperley is considering splitting off from Lomas de Zamora soon.
- ↑ a b Only the urban areas belong to Gran Buenos Aires, the islands of the delta do not.
- ↑ Vicente López, as the only partido in Gran Buenos Aires, also forms a single city, which is not divided into localities but into barrios (districts). Nevertheless, the seat of the administration is given as Olivos .
According to zones
The Gran Buenos Aires is divided into the zones Norte, Sur and Oeste depending on the location of the Partidos . The urban area of Buenos Aires is left out.
Zona Norte
The area known as Zona Norte occupies the north-west of the agglomeration. It has 1,412,947 inhabitants (2001), which is growing by an average of 1.56% per decade (mean 1991-2001).
The area is considered to be the wealthiest in the metropolitan area. In particular, the Partido San Isidro, whose capital of the same name is one of the oldest suburbs of Buenos Aires, has a large number of villa districts, some of them designed as closed residential complexes . Paradoxically, the largest slum of the metropolitan area, known as Villa La Cava (approx. 20,000 inhabitants), is also located in this partido.
The Partidos Tigre and San Fernando are popular local recreation areas; in them lie the front islands of the delta of the Río Paraná . The tourist train Tren de la Costa , opened in 1996, runs from the affluent middle-class district of Olivos , where the president's residence (quinta presidencial) is located, along the Río de la Plata through the entire area. In the west of the Partidos Tigre, on the other hand, lies the industrially important city of General Pacheco, known in particular for its automobile factories ( Ford , Volkswagen , Renault ).
The following Partidos belong to the Zona Norte: San Fernando, San Isidro, San Martín, Tigre and Vicente López.
Zona Oeste
The Zona Oeste is located in the west of the metropolitan area. It has 3,852,164 inhabitants (2001) and a growth of 12.4% per decade. Most of the poorer neighborhoods and slums are located in it, especially in the outskirts of Merlo and Moreno. The Ingeniero Roggero reservoir , which dams the tributaries of the Río de la Reconquista, is remarkable . The Río de la Reconquista itself is the most important river in the area. However, it is extremely polluted, also because the largest garbage dump in the metropolitan area is on its bank .
The following Partidos belong to the Zona Oeste: Hurlingham, Ituzaingó, José C. Paz, La Matanza, Malvinas Argentinas, Merlo, Moreno, Morón, San Miguel and Tres de Febrero.
Zona Sur
The Zona Sur occupies the south and east of the metropolitan area. It has 3,399,186 inhabitants (2001), with 9.1 percent growth per decade. The area is the industrial center of Gran Buenos Aires: heavy industry is concentrated around the Partidos Avellaneda and Lanús, especially around the Riachuelo River , which is the most polluted of the agglomeration.
Aeropuerto Ministro Pistarini International Airport , the most important in the country, is located on the outskirts of this region near the city of Ezeiza , which is why it is known as Aeropuerto de Ezeiza and has the IATA code EZE.
In the southeast of the area is the largest park in the metropolitan area, Parque Pereyra Iraola, on the border with the provincial capital La Plata .
The following partidos are usually included in the Zona Sur: Almirante Brown, Avellaneda, Berazategui, Esteban Echeverría, Ezeiza, Florencio Varela, Lanús, Lomas de Zamora and Quilmes.
GBA 1 and GBA 2
Another division divides the agglomeration into an inner ring (GBA 1) and an outer ring (GBA 2).
GBA 1 consists of the inner 10 Partidos and has 3,318,314 inhabitants (2001). These are often wealthier suburbs with a stable or slightly decreasing population (−1.5% loss per decade)
GBA 2 consists of the remaining 14 Partidos and has 5,345,983 inhabitants (2001). These areas are characterized by a mixture of poorer neighborhoods with low base prices and, on the other hand, luxury gated residential complexes such as country clubs . They have increased population growth (17.5% per decade).
Greater Metropolitan Area (AMBA)
Around the actual Gran Buenos Aires there are other places that are added to the metropolitan area of the city in some statistics. These are cities and areas with very high population growth, but still relatively low population density. All areas together are officially designated with the term Area Metropolitana de Buenos Aires (AMBA), which roughly means metropolitan area Buenos Aires . A frequently used synonym is also Conurbano de Buenos Aires, but unlike AMBA , this term does not include the city of Buenos Aires itself.
If you add up all areas, you get a population for the entire metropolitan area of 12,734,562 inhabitants (2001) on an area of 7241 square kilometers. This means a population density of 1758.7 inhabitants per square kilometer.
Surroundings of Gran Buenos Aires
This area is around the suburbs of Gran Buenos Aires. It has an area of 2,199 square kilometers, a population of 602,874, a population density of 274.2 people per square kilometer, and a growth of 51.83 percent per decade.
The northern part of this area in particular is currently the main construction site for closed residential complexes and country clubs. On the other hand, there are also many "villas miserias" ( marginal settlements ) in this area. The two most populous Partidos, Pilar and Belén de Escobar, also have some industry, otherwise they are almost pure "sleeping cities".
The following Partidos are included: Escobar in the north, General Rodríguez in the west, Presidente Perón in the west, Marcos Paz in the north-west, Pilar in the north-west and San Vicente in the south-west.
La Plata agglomeration
The metropolitan area of the capital of the province of Buenos Aires, La Plata, is also located on the periphery of the state capital and is therefore counted as part of its enlarged metropolitan area. Overall, the region has an area of 1162 square kilometers, 694,253 inhabitants (2001), a population density of 597.4 inhabitants per square kilometer and a growth of eight percent per decade.
While the city of La Plata is administratively and commercially oriented, the suburbs of Berisso and Ensenada are important industrial locations, including the refinery of the oil company Repsol YPF . This is associated with high levels of air and water pollution.
Between Ensenada and Berazategui (see above) lies the metropolitan area's only major nature reserve. It protects the so-called selva marginal, the gallery forest on the Río de la Plata, which is otherwise almost completely cleared.
The following Partidos form the La Plata agglomeration: La Plata itself, as well as Berisso (east) and Ensenada (northwest), both of which are located directly on the Río de la Plata.
Región Metropolitana de Buenos Aires (RMBA) and other catchment area
In a radius of around 100 km from Buenos Aires, the population density is considerably higher than in the rest of the province, so one can speak of an extended catchment area.
The term Región Metropolitana de Buenos Aires ( Metropolitan Area Buenos Aires) is used in slightly different definitions for this area. According to the definition of the Province of Buenos Aires, it includes the AMBA as well as the Partidos Brandsen, Cañuelas, Campana, Exaltación de la Cruz, Luján, General Las Heras and Zárate. Other partidos sometimes included are Lobos, Mercedes, and Navarro.
Important places in the extended catchment area, sorted according to direction, are:
- in the north: Zárate and Campana , two closely spaced industrial cities about 75 kilometers northwest of the city with a total of 164,524 inhabitants. You are shaped by the metal industry. In Zárate there is the Complejo Zárate-Brazo Largo bridge , one of the few road connections between the provinces of Buenos Aires and Entre Ríos , and a little to the north the largest nuclear power plant in Argentina, Atucha (two reactors). Furthermore, 80 km northwest of the industrial city of Pergamino with 85,487 inhabitants, as well as the smaller towns of Capilla del Señor and San Antonio de Areco , the latter a popular tourist destination because of its gaucho festivals.
- in the west: The largest city in this region is the famous pilgrimage and tourist site Luján (67,266 inhabitants, 60 km from Buenos Aires). Other important centers are Mercedes (51,967 inhabitants), General Las Heras , Lobos , Navarro and San Andrés de Giles .
- in the south: The city of Cañuelas (24,380 inhabitants), 60 km southwest of Buenos Aires, is currently growing into another residential suburb of the capital. The same applies to the smaller Brandsen (18,000 inhabitants). San Miguel del Monte (15,000 inhabitants, 100 km southwest) is a popular local recreation area with a lake, the Laguna Monte .
- in the east: 40 kilometers southeast of La Plata, 100 kilometers from Buenos Aires, is the old city of Magdalena (20,000 inhabitants), which is characterized by agriculture. A large part of this area at the mouth of the Río de la Plata in the Atlantic is now designated as a biosphere reserve.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ 2010 census: Population of the 24 Partidos of Gran Buenos Aires ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , INDEC
- ↑ Law 13473 of the Province of Buenos Aires
- ↑ 2010 census: Partidos of the interior of the province of Buenos Aires ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , INDEC
- ^ Plan Estratégico Territorial: Región Metropolitana de Buenos Aires , publication of the Ministry of Infrastructure of the Province of Buenos Aires
