Hidden City: will giving residents land rights transform a Buenos Aires slum?
(The Guardian Argentina)

Argentina´s president once talked of forcing slums out of the city - now he wants to deliver residents the deeds to their land. But will it help?`It was really bad in there - I mean, it´s literally a ruin,` says Romina Vargas of Argentina´s most famous abandoned building, where she once lived. `There was lots of contaminated water on the lower floors, there were no sewers, and kids would come and take drugs inside. It´s good that it´s coming down.`Built in the 1930s and later championed by president Juan Domingo Perón, the 14-storey building in south-west Buenos Aires was intended to be the largest hospital in Latin America; a cornerstone of Perón´s grand populist vision for Argentina. But construction stopped abruptly in 1955 with a military coup. The abandoned colossus at the edge of the capital became known as the White Elephant.If people start selling their land, the area is at the mercy of the market. They could end up somewhere even worseWe ended up here because of a lack of money and education, so we can´t afford to move anywhere else Related: Buenos Aires: the poor fight to survive while across the road the wealthy shop Continue reading...