Views of Rosario, Argentina

Views of Rosario, Argentina

Location

Rosario, an important municipality of the Province of Santa Fe in Argentina, is located on the right bank side of the Parana river, and covers an area of 17,869 Ha. Rosario city is divided in six descentralized districts: centre, north, north-east, west, southwest and south; the north-east and west are the bigger sectors (44 and 40 sq km respectively), and the south is the smallest (19 sq km).

Location of Rosario in Argentina.

Population, area and density

According to the 2001 National Census, Rosario had 908,875 inhabitants, 53% were women and 47% were men. 99% of the population was classified as urban, that is living in urban areas. Of the total 17,869 Ha, 12,357 Ha is considered urban while the remaining 5,512 Ha are considered rural. Additionally, the Municipality of Rosario has a density of 50.86 inhabitants per Ha. However, it is important to note the difference between urban and rural densities. While the urban density is very high reaching 73.46 inhabitants per Ha, the rural density is extremely low 0.21 inhabitants per Ha.

Slums Upgrading Initiatives

Presently, Rosario has 91 irregular settlements, housing almost 115,000 inhabitants (13% of the total population). These settlements occupy 10% of the developed land.
In 2001, the Municipality launched the program Rosario Habitat, which aims to abolish the existence of two parallel cities – the poor and the rich – through the upgrading of the city’s excluded settlements. The sites to be upgraded are chosen based on the environmental risks that they face and the potential impact of the project. The Rosario Habitat program is co-financed by the Inter-American Development Bank – 60% - and the Municipality of Rosario -40%. It is executed by Rosario’s Housing Public Service – SPV, which functions in cooperation with a Coordination Unit involving a number of municipal entities.

Land Use and Urban Agriculture

Rosario City has vacant land available that can be use for urban agriculture. In fact, the existence of a great variety of undeveloped land – private and public – offers a great opportunity to a wide range of group of urban poor to improve their economic condition by putting into use the existing underuse land. The vacant land in the Municipality of Rosario could be public or private: More than half of it belongs to the private sector, but there is still good amount of land in government hands, which can be use for urban agriculture.

Urban Agriculture in Rosario

Urban Agriculture along an old railroad.

Example of urban agriculture on institutional land

Decorative planting is common in irregular settlements

Domestic animals are common in informal settlements

Urban agriculture along a canal

Use of parks and plazas for markets to sell UA products

Urban agriculture is often practiced in small spaces

Howere poor, people still take care of trees

Detailed view of housing conditions in Rosario

Typological classification of undeveloped land in Rosario.