Historicizing the circulation of urban policies through career paths analysis: Barcelonian experts and their role in redeveloping Buenos Aires’ Puerto Madero.

Abstract

This article addresses various issues of urban policy circulation, focusing on the Puerto Madero redevelopment project and in exchanges between experts and politicians from Barcelona and Buenos Aires. I emphasize the relevance of national states in processes that merge economic, political, and technical projects. Second, I argue that conflicts are relevant parts of those processes. Third, I show career paths analysis as a relevant tool for analyzing and historicizing these processes. In so doing, I aim to demonstrate why and how local experts chose to learn from Barcelona. In sum, I focus on recent history and argue that both career paths analysis and a substantive consideration of the state in these processes can enrich recent policy mobility literature.