In Buenos Aires, a city commits to a long-neglected neighborhood

Leadership changes in Argentina and its capital city of Buenos Aires in December 2015 marked the beginning of a significant political moment for urban governance and innovation. With the former mayor of Buenos Aires, Mauricio Macri, now Argentina’s president and his former chief of staff, Horacio Rodriguéz Larreta, now the current mayor, for the first time in modern history the leadership of the country and its capital are aligned and focused on maximizing the potential of this metro region of more than 12 million people.

When we recently visited Buenos Aires, we found local leaders committed to economic transformation, governance reform, and global integration. It was especially evident in efforts, begun under the Macri mayoralty, to address spatial inequality through investments in the historically underserved southern half of the city.

The Parque Patricios Ecobici station, near the Subte metro.

The southwestern neighborhood of Parque Patricios Distrito Tecnológico, is the posterchild for these efforts. Historically challenged by a lack of transit connections, commercial activity, and security, the area was designated a “creative district” in 2008 and has recently benefited from key public investment efforts like commercial tax relief through 2034, a city Subte subway station, the Ecobici bike share system, and a host of publicly supported programs for entrepreneurs and residents. Two hundred forty businesses—a mix of software companies and major global consultancies like Tata, Accenture, and Deloitte—now call the neighborhood home. The district also houses a campus of Instituto Tecnológico Buenos Aires (ITBA), the prestigious engineering university, and other university extensions are in the works.