A River Runs Through It: Territory of Opportunistic Coexistence

In order to understand urban development in Latin America we must study the actions of an opportunistic environment that enables social progress. Usually, urban adaptations react to the pressures of a contested territory, that if seen as survival tactics, they amplify urban regeneration, where illicit acts of urbanism become primary sites of innovation. Such is the example of the international border between San Diego, and Tijuana. This region is no exception of witnessing the territorial conflicts and crime scenes that are typical characteristics of border regions. In particular this border encounters the highest massive migration from Latin America to the USand back (deportees), making the dividing line – in this case the Tijuana river canal – a site of urban dialectics. The channelized river has tangibly revealed the mutations and interactions of opposing realities that expose overtones, exigencies, neglected issues and/or cutting edge cultural movements. It is at this hotbed and funneling point of two countries where illicit acts of urbanism are accepted. Emblematic of an opportunistic landscape, opposing modes of operations are in some cases ignored for the sake of coexistence.

https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.Intl.2016.53

Volume Editors
Alfredo Andia, Dana Cupkova, Macarena Cortes, Umberto Bonomo & Vera Parlac

ISBN
978-1-944214-10-4