Women's ways of dwelling amidst river cycles and floods.

An approach to the strategies and knowledge built for dwelling in riverine territory: research progress.

Abstract

In this article, we will share research progress made as part of the development of a doctoral thesis that analyzes the ways women construct their living arrangements in a riverside neighborhood in the city of Santa Fe, known as "La Vuelta del Paraguayo" (LVDP). This neighborhood is characterized by coexisting with river cycles and experiencing periodic floods. Our approach is grounded in the field of gender and space studies, employing an intersectional perspective. This perspective recognizes that gender, as a social organizing factor, interacts with other aspects such as race, class, and, in this specific case, the geographical conditions of the location.

To conduct our research, we conducted ethnographic interviews with a group of women residing in LVDP. In the initial findings of our analysis, we observed that the interviewees structure their narratives around a central conflict that juxtaposes their narrative of "living with the river" against a state narrative that categorizes LVDP as a high-risk, uninhabitable neighborhood subject to relocation. We aim to expose how this conflict affects women differently.