Engineer Gronda, president of Subchapter “Urban Settlements” of Chapter: LARGE METROPOLISES AND THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE – LMI of the World Congress and Exhibition: ENGINEERING 2010 – ARGENTINA, gives his opinion about the sustainability of large cities and social inclusion.

Which are the key issues that will be discussed in the Subchapter “Urban Settlements”?

The topics of the Subchapter on Urban Settlements of large metropolises and their infrastructure are the sustainability of large cities and the problem of social exclusion in them.


From the point of view of sustainable development, which are the necessary tools to organize urban development in large cities?

The future urban development of large cities demands the identification of those relevant features of each city, i.e. values to be preserved to sustain a successful development, and the minimization of present exogenous elements.
For example, relevant features of Buenos Aires are: cultural values (architectural heritage, its cityscape, theatrical and musical events, etc.), plenty of commercial and administrative centers and a racial integration which is quite unusual today in the large cities of the world.
Irregularities include: the increase of precarious settlements, permanent blockades of streets and avenues, crime rate, traffic congestion and pollution in all its forms (irregular trash pick-up, increase of polluting transports, visual and noise pollution, etc.).
 
The tools to eradicate these irregularities include, in the first place, an organic, professional and systematic planning, which should take into account the decision of the policy-makers of observing the law, in defense of public and private properties which are unduly affected. To achieve this, the roles of the several jurisdictions in the protection of the normal use of the city’s assets should be clearly defined. Secondly, the demographic asymmetry of the city should be corrected, not only in the relation North-South but also in the lack of proportion between people working in the city and living in it. In the Congress, we will have the possibility of listening to the opinions of the experts about the problems to face so as to make cities sustainable and use them to solve our specific problems.

How do you consider social inclusion in large metropolises may be achieved?

Social exclusion in large metropolises is a complex phenomenon caused by old mistakes or omissions, whose solution is difficult due to economic interests and lack of political decisions and whose magnitude is increasing because of the uncontrolled settlement in the city and of the growth of poverty.

How do you think ENGINEERING 2010 – ARGENTINA may propose solutions to the present problems of irregular settlements?
 
The solutions that may be proposed by the Congress ENGINEERING 2010 – ARGENTINA, will arise from the analysis of the papers submitted in response to the “Call for Papers”, which has been promoted in our country and abroad, and from the lectures of the international experts as well as from the contributions of the speakers in the different panels.