The urban scope of the territorial and cultural confrontations between the United States and the Soviet Union extends beyond the well-known post-war reconstructions of Europe, reaching across countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Through plans, maps, and microhistories, the exhibition explores the role of architecture and urban design in the more than 500 projects—led by Robert McNamara—that the World Bank financed between 1972 and 1985 in 136 cities of what was then known as the "Third World." This war on poverty sought to halt the advance of communism and expand the geopolitical frontiers of the First World into developing countries, this time through an economic growth agenda that instrumentalized urban housing.
The exhibition was authored by ARQ UC professor Francisco Quintana, together with Bárbara Salazar and Gabriel Fuentes, with postal contributions from Carlos Díaz, Felipe Pizarro, and Javier Roa, and assistance from Carlos Díaz and Melinka Bier. The exhibition also features participation from undergraduate students and alumni of the Master of Architecture (MARQ) and Master of Urban Project (MPUR) programs at UC, who collaborated through research conducted in courses and workshops titled "Cold War Cities."
This work was supported by the Directorate of Arts and Culture, Office of the Vice President for Research at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
