The intermediate industrial city: Urban transformation of Barrancabermeja from 1951 to 2002

Abstract

The multiscalar state has managed urban interventions in the intermediate city of Barrancabermeja in response to population growth influenced by the petrochemical industry since its settlement at the end of the first decade of twentieth century. Thus, this article aims to understand the urban transformation of the city of Barrancabermeja in the period 1951-2002, as a result of the interventions of the petrochemical industry and the multiscalar state actors, in terms of the production of social housing and infrastructure (urban roads, aqueduct and sewerage).  Through the review and analysis of official muniments, cartographic documents, and field trips, we were able to identify  the interventions that the petrochemical industry and state actors carried out in the urban fabric of the city of Barrancabermeja between 1951-1989; likewise, it was possible to understand: The involvement of  the Ninth Urban Reform Law for urban development management, the abandonment of ISI model and the restructuring process; and the trends in the urban configuration of  Barrancabermeja between 1951-2002, as a result of the different urban development management models.