Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Investment Choices, Changes in the Built Environment, and Quality of Life in Buenos Aires, Argentina

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University of California at Davis graduate student, Nicholas D'Avella, working with the guidance of Dr. Donald Donham, will undertake research on how homeowners and architects respond to local changes in real estate investment practices under changing national and international economic conditions. The research will be conducted in Buenos Aires where real estate investment practices are remaking the material landscape of the city. In the years following Argentina's latest economic crisis, Buenos Aires has witnessed an intense construction boom driven by the redirection of investment capital and personal savings out of banks and into real estate. During this time, buildings have taken on an unprecedented significance as financial investments. New forms of financing construction have changed the work of architecture significantly, as the field's changing relationship with the market offers architects both new opportunities as well as new restrictions in the practice of their art. At the same time, the residents of neighborhoods most impacted by the boom have reacted strongly to changes in their lives, and have begun to protest against further construction. Research will be conducted at schools and professional conferences for both architects and investors; within an architectural studio; and in a rapidly changing Buenos Aires neighborhood. Data collection will involve a mix of archival research, surveys, ethnographic observation, and in-depth interviews.The research is important because it will help social scientists understand the different strategies that people use in a world of increasing economic globalization. It will also provide a better understanding of the material formation of contemporary cities, which speaks not only to the concerns of social scientists, but also to the residents of many cities today. The research will also contribute to the education of a social scientist.