The Urban Debate in Latin America: Pandemic, Public Opinion, and Digital Information Networks

Authors

Abstract

The urban debate has taken an unprecedented turn due to the global health emergency. Academic and non-academic reflections have brought into discussion the future of cities, where everyday life was disrupted by the pandemic. This study attempts to identify the boundaries of an emerging public opinion on the pandemic and its urban effects in Latin America. To this end, it develops a comparative analysis of discourses grouped into three major thematic sources: academia, the press, and social networks. By means of a preliminary content analysis, and a trend analysis in a later stage, it seeks to identify the most recurrent and important themes. The results reveal the accentuated biases among the abovementioned sources, even though they share a common problem. Likewise, the asepsis or neutrality of academic resources is rediscovered, a condition that contrasts with the polarization of non-academic media. The analysis culminates with bibliometric predictions on future topics, thus identifying the concepts that will drive the urban debate in post-pandemic Latin America.

Keywords:

discourse, Latin America, pandemic, social media, urbanism

Author Biographies

Yeimis Milton Palomino Pichihua, Sr., Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Doctorando en Sostenibilidad y Regeneración Urbana, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (España).

Docente auxiliar en Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Perú.

Javier Ruiz Sánchez, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Departamento de Urbanismo y Ordenación del Territorio, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

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