Architect and urbanist Andrés Borthagaray criticized the proposal to build underground parking under plazas and parks in Buenos Aires. He warned of irreversible impacts on public space and the environment. He called for an integral mobility policy.
The debate on parking in Buenos Aires focuses on a project to build underground garages under plazas and parks. Andrés Borthagaray, architect and urbanist, questioned the initiative, which comes from a private proposal and aims to generate city revenue through a canon fee.
“We are discussing parking, we need a parking policy, a mobility policy,” stated Borthagaray. He warned that the project, presented as discouraging car use, could have the opposite effect. “I don't think so, it's not the solution,” he emphasized.
Borthagaray contrasted the plan with global trends in cities like Paris and the Netherlands, which prioritize sustainable mobility and avoid intervening in green spaces. “If you really want to discourage car use, you don't create parking lots,” he said. He alerted to the deterioration of public space, such as plazas turned into “planters” or with “mutilations.”
The urbanist highlighted negative effects like loss of absorbent soil, tree deterioration, and reduced recreational areas. “To get that canon, you have to destroy at least five plazas,” he warned, naming spaces in Parque Patricios, Núñez, Palermo, Barracas, and Belgrano. “Even if built well, the consequences... will be totally destructive,” he affirmed, calling for alternatives to generate resources without sacrificing greens.
