Urban Imaginaries in Mar del Plata's Protected Areas, Argentina

Abstract

Nature reserves within urban areas provide ecosystem services to the population. They have great importance to achieve urban sustainability. The objective of this article is to analyze how these protected areas are understood by the inhabitants of the city, taking as a case study two reserves located in general Pueyrredon, Buenos Aires, Argentina: “Reserva Natural Puerto Mar del Plata” and “Reserva Forestal Bosque Peralta Ramos”. In order to recover the urban imaginaries that guide the practices of people, the research bases on aqualitative research methodology, employing primary and secondary information sources, such as in-depth interviews and official documents. The fear associated with the “wild” nature, the search for control and order, the tranquility of moving away from urban centers and taking refuge in peri-urban places and the different perceptions about urban nature management in public and private spaces are some of the imaginary addressed. Taking into consideration the conservation problems faced by urban protected areas, it is important to study how these spaces are understood, for proper urban environmental management.