San Carlos de Bariloche

Abstract

San Carlos de Bariloche is the third most important city in the entire Patagonian region and the only one of the three located in theArgentine-Chilean bordering space. Although its main economic activity is tourism, it also stands out as a university, scientific, andtechnological center. It is located in an environment of mountains and lakes, and these landscape characteristics make it a city with acomplex population process historically linked with the Nahuel Huapi National Park. It is a highly fragmented city both in social andterritorial terms, and it has one of the largest municipal lands in all of Argentina. According to the department’s general indicators, in2010, San Carlos de Bariloche presented a very favorable relative situation with respect to the total of the country’s departments. Thiscondition is given by the conjunction of a low rate of population with a degree below complete primary education (DBCP), high rate ofpopulation with completed university, low infant mortality rate, medium-low population rate without health insurance (PWHI), andmedium-low rate of crowded homes. These dimensions, added to the environmental indicators, end up defining an outstanding qualityof life score. Despite these favorable results at a global level, it is necessary to move toward an analysis that allows discriminating theexisting socioeconomic and environmental asymmetries within the urban space. This text will analyze the internal heterogeneities ofthis important locality, deconstructing the idea of “the two faces of the city” and adding an interscalar dialog to its quality of life study.