Public Policies Under Tension: Tourism and Environmental Protection - A Case Study in Patagonia

The creation of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Studies in Economics, Territory and Society (CIETES) inside the Andean Seat of National University of Río Negro gave us the opportunity to conduct a research of an urbanized area next to the Nahuel Huapi National Park in Patagonia. It is protected by the local government as a Natural Urban Reserve. The study inquires about the impact on the development, especially in relation with the real estate market. It is based on human statistics, the census, the land uses, the physical area, the tourist and recreational attractions, the environment and the urban legislation for control and conservation. The information was mapped and analyzed with the inhabitants. It concludes with recommendations for a better relation between the environment conservation and the touristic development, strategies to improve town planning and to increase and deepen the studies of the history of our regional architecture.