The untested feasibility. Guidelines to face the ecosystemic and social collapse in the Asunción Riverfront

Abstract

This document is a position paper that discusses guidelines for resilient and sustainable urban development in Asunción, Paraguay, in the context of climate change and an ongoing urban governance crisis associated with highly dysfunctional administrations. Territorially, the paper focuses on Asunción's riverfront and aims to provide evidence-based answers about where and how urban development efforts should be concentrated, while defining areas that should be preserved for their environmental and ecosystemic value. The reflection is based on two case studies: the riverfront of the city of Villa Hayes, on the right bank of the Paraguay River, and the area between Itá Pytã Punta and the Old Port of Asunción, on the left bank. The former illustrates processes of river access privatization, wetlands destruction through land reclamation, unsustainable urbanism and even reconfiguration of the river's main course due to private intervention. The latter represents an example of a territory with potential for urban consolidation of precarious settlements and sustainable densification. Methodologically, this article relies upon GIS Free and Open Source Software (F/OSS) tools. The systematic mapping of the two case studies allows for describing trends and quantifying key processes (e.g., area of wetlands filled, length of riverfront blocked to public access, etc.). Based on the results, the article discusses potential guidelines that make the development of sustainable urban development projects feasible.