"CITIZEN PARTICIPATION AND TERRITORIAL MANAGEMENT: A COMMUNICATIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE LA TOMA NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROJECT. TUCUMÁN, ARGENTINA"

Abstract

The process of shaping the Gran San Miguel de Tucumán urban agglomeration, in northern Argentina, was marked by profound socioeconomic transformations since the 1960s, especially following the massive closure of sugar mills and the resulting rural-to-urban migration. In this context, broad popular sectors experience forms of precarious inclusion in the city, shaped by labor informality, exclusion, and stigmatization, which deepens their conditions of vulnerability and limits their active participation in decisions that affect the management and regeneration of their territory. This article addresses forms of community organization and resistance in the unequal construction of territory, based on the analysis of the neighborhood improvement project in La Toma, in Tucumán, Argentina, carried out by the community together with researchers from CONICET and the University, and technicians from the Municipality. The communicational analysis of the case highlights some positive aspects regarding the possibility of agency that participatory methodologies offer the community in relation to the decision-making process concerning the production and improvement of their neighborhood.