Comuna 8 hosts a vast area of green and open spaces with extraordinary potential to become a vital green lung for the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Region. However, this extensive territory of public land, currently managed by multiple stakeholders, presents significant challenges.

Low-density housing, informal settlements, and a collection of municipal neighborhoods coexist with industrial areas and large logistical complexes that serve heavy freight traffic. This is a historically underprioritized area in the urban agenda, strongly shaped by its origins as a flood-prone waste dumping site. Environmental remediation and improvements only began in the 1940s, with the channelling of the Cildáñez stream. Thirty years later, the creation of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area Ecological Belt (CEAMSE) initiated a process of transformation that continues today and was accelerated by the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

How can we efficiently and safely connect parks and green spaces that remain isolated from one another by urban barriers? How can we maintain 285 hectares of public parks? How can we strengthen the identity of lands historically associated with dumping grounds, informal occupations, and marginalization?

As part of the project A New Vision for the Olympic Neighborhood (CEEU 2022), the intervention was structured around four key themes—Connection, Accessibility, Activation, and Governance—to rethink these areas as a cohesive Park Network, positioning them as the city’s second green lung while enhancing their role as a Sports District.

The project is organized through four overarching strategies to consolidate the network, nine Project Units (PUs), four implementation phases, and a set of specific urban actions tailored to each phase. The proposed framework functions both as an action plan and a guiding roadmap, intended to align the commitment of various stakeholders toward the shared goal of creating a more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive city. By strengthening and adapting connectivity networks, promoting environmental adaptation, improving access and integration, activating public programming, recovering identity, and establishing appropriate governance models, the project aims to create a more cohesive and enriching urban environment for the residents of both the comuna and the city.

Phase One
Of the four proposed phases, Phase One focuses on short-term implementation and prioritizes the following key actions:
1. activating 23 de Junio Street and the edge between the Olympic Neighborhood (BO) and the City Park (PC);
2. opening a public plaza-like esplanade to the neighborhood by modifying the existing fence, providing residents with a new daily meeting space;
3. opening ground floor commercial units toward the park; and
4. enabling parking areas to reduce traffic within the neighborhood.
Finally, two vacant lots are also being transformed into public spaces for community use, expanding the range of activities offered in the area.

Perception Surveys
In March 2024, three survey days were held in the Olympic Neighborhood, located in the southern district of Buenos Aires. A total of 150 intercept surveys were conducted with residents, gathering their views on the current availability and condition of public spaces in the neighborhood, as well as their future expectations and needs.