In the 21st century, energy has become a central axis for rethinking territorial organization, environmental justice, and development models. The so-called “energy transition” goes beyond a technical reconfiguration of the energy matrix: it also entails a profound debate on resource access, environmental sustainability, social and cultural impacts, and the need to democratize both the production and consumption of energy.

In this context, the region of Vaca Muerta, in Argentine Patagonia, stands as a paradigmatic case. Discovered in 2010, this deposit quickly became one of the largest unconventional oil and gas reserves in the world. In less than a decade, the fracking industry has radically transformed the region’s landscape and urban fabric, with deep social, economic, and ecological consequences.

This research seeks to make visible the multiple effects of fracking in Vaca Muerta and southern Argentina by mapping territorial conflicts, socio-environmental inequities, and urban challenges arising from the extractive model. Through critical cartographies, it proposes new ways of understanding and representing these processes, with the aim of informing the development of public policies, planning strategies, and design tools geared toward achieving spatial justice.

The work is grounded in a conceptual hypothesis that considers Patagonia as a Global Garden: the counterpart to global cities, defined by its natural wealth, the presence of rural communities, small towns, and intermediate cities, and its growing geopolitical, economic, and symbolic value on a planetary scale. From this perspective, the Patagonian territory should not be seen as an empty space for exploitation, but as a complex, inhabited, and valuable ecosystem that demands sensitive, sustainable, and just approaches for its future development.