City and project among Europe and Latin America. London, Paris and Barcelona as part of the history of sanitation in Buenos Aires (1871-1923)

Abstract

In this article I will address the first European sanitation projects, identifying continuities and ruptures that laid the foundations of urban planning and the conformation of the sanitation system in Buenos Aires. The foundational sanitation projects in Buenos Aires (1871-1923) reflected the sanitary crises and technical solutions deployed in the great European capitals; a strategy observed by politicians and decision makers as an essential component of the modernizing movement of the city. I will thus inquire about analogies and relationships between London, Paris, Barcelona and Buenos Aires in the conception of their sanitation systems; questioning the technique in its interaction with the city, especially before what happened in the main European cities, marked by an unprecedented industrial movement and an unusual population growth that showed serious deficiencies in the habitat and sanitation conditions of the working masses, emerging deadly epidemics and the social pressure of sanitation as a solution.

Keywords: City and Project; Interaction between City and Sanitation; History of Sanitation; History of Buenos Aires.