Urban transformations, territorial disputes and citizen action: A reading from Milton Santos of the case of the Mitre Station (San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina)

Abstract

This article analyzes the process of academic and civic mobilization that developed around the railway land of the Mitre Station in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina, within the framework of national policies for the alienation of public lands. Based on the work promoted by an ad hoc commission of the Institute of Urban Planning and Development (IPDU-FAU-UNT), which included the drafting of an institutional declaration and the citizen action “REvuelta a la Estación Mitre: Caminata urbana de lo común” (Revolt at Mitre Station: Urban Walk of the Commons), it examines how the practices of knowledge production, collective articulation, and occupation of the territory constitute forms of resistance against the processes of urban commodification.The analysis is framed within the work of Milton Santos, considering his reflections on globalization, land use, and urban rationalities, and is complemented by contributions from the Right to the City and the idea of ​​the city as a common good. The work shows how the defense of the property is part of a broader dispute over the social use of the territory, the democratization of urban decisions, and the strengthening of collective practices that restore use values ​​in the face of market logic.