Leisure, Tourism and Urban Space: the port reconversion in the city of Santa Fé, Argentina

Abstract

This article is a result of an internship in 2014 at the Universidad Nacional del Litoral in Santa Fe - Argentina, in partnership with the University of São Paulo, and financed by Santander institution. It aims to study the port area of the city of Santa Fe that has been transformed into a leisure and tourism complex following an international trend of waterfronts spaces reconfiguration. The methodology involves literature review and semi-structured interview near to the urban planning department of the city. The results show that the port area in 2004 has undergone a reconversion process of its functions, aiming to serve a policy strategic planning of the city, in search of the resumption of the centrality role. At the ending is drawn a reflection about the posture taken by public managers in the contemporary city and the weight for the tourist activity as a development bias local economic. The port reconversion in Santa Fe is based on an international model of urban planning and use of spaces in waterfronts for leisure and tourism purpose, made possible through of partnership between the public and private sectors.