The study strarts with an exhaustive analysis of the city of Quilmes. The city is mapped using various lenses to create catalogs of socio-ecological and infrastructural systems. Due to the geographical position of Quilmes and the high relevance of water courses in the city, these different maps are mostly based around water.
The location of Quilmes is of high relevance when approaching an understanding of the city. Quilmes is located on the southern fluvial terrace of La Plata River, which is the widest river in the world and where the Paraná and Uruguay rivers converge. It is also a natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. Quilmes is out of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers deltaic dynamics.
There are four main basins that shape the zone of AMBA, Lujan basin, Reconquista basin, Riachuelo Matanza basin and La Plata South basin. This last basin covers the area from Avellaneda to the city of La Plata, where Quilmes is located. Its many streams and rivers flow directly into La Plata River through a large floodplain with a marshland character that serves as a transition between La Plata River and the plateau in which Quilmes is located. The floodplain is continuous from the edge of the city of Buenos Aires, limited by the Matanza River, to the city of La Plata.
The Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires extends its urbanized zone along the coast of La Plata River toward the city of La Plata, becoming almost connected. The urban zones are spoiling and occupying marshlands in the floodplain. It is the case of the neighborhood of la Ribera in Quilmes and several new gated communities under consolidation in the city of Berazategui.
Water is the key to understand the city of Quilmes and its current challenges. The population of Quilmes struggles with serious problems regarding water pollution and floods, which are a continuous and severe problem. There are two main causes for floods in Quilmes. The first cause is sudestada. The second cause is heavy rainfall, worsened due to a bad rain drainage system.
The morphology and occupation of the territory aggravates the impact of floods. The occupation of the neighborhood of la Ribera, located in the floodplain, has taken place without protection against floods. As a result, the neighborhood is frequently flooded under the level of La Plata River. At the same time, the construction of a highway Buenos Aires – La Plata, crossing through the floodplain as well, causes serious problems stopping the natural drainage of rainwater flowing from the city.
There are two streams (arroyos) of major importance that cross the city of Quilmes. These streams are highly polluted and carry water and waste from neighboring cities south of Quilmes down to La Plata River. The streams also break the pronounced topography separating the floodplain from the plateau where Quilmes was originally settled. This interruption in la barranca (slope) provides an entrance for flood into the city.
Analyzing ecologies, mobility and socio-economical aspects of Quilmes, we find that there are many irregular settlements in the city. Most of them are located along the arroyos area and in the floodplain. This means that there are large areas without drinking water, sewage or drainage infrastructure, and at the same time, population with the lowest income are seriously affected by floods.