Puerto Madero is a familiar story for all you Urban Planning folks out there - a former industrial site (in this case a Naval Base) uses it´s advantage (waterfront access, central location) and tries to reinvent itself as the cool (and very expensive) part of town. The result is usually an interesting contrast of the old and the new.
In addition, the folks here rechristened the old landfill there as an ¨ecological reserve.¨

Puerto Madero is where the extrañjeros (foreigners) go to eat, live, and play. The best evidence of this is the Real Estate signs in English. Recently built or under constructionhigh rises dot the landscape along with the old Industrial buildings. And not only is there a Sushi Restaraunt, a building that looks inspired (if not designed) by Frank Gehry (in this case the club Opera Bay, which is the big Extrañjero ¨Boleto¨ or dance club) completes the makeover.

With Buenos Aires in such a financial bind, it remains to be seen if developing this neighborhood is the best use of resources. But the currency devaluation has attracted a LOT of Europeans and Americans here lately, so maybe it´s appropriate they even get their own neighborhood.

As for me, I´m out of Buenos Aires this Friday if all goes well. I want to get a few more entries in before I got though, so stay tuned. I might not be able to get in a lot of pictures though.