ABSTRACT
In 1956, the Extension Program of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) established the Centre for Integrated Community Development (CDI; Centro de Desarrollo Integral) in Isla Maciel, a working-class neighborhood located in Greater Buenos Aires (GBA) that bordered the capital city. The CDI organized interdisciplinary groups of scholars and students to work together with residents to find solutions to the most urgent social needs. Doctors, psychologists, social workers, educators, social scientists, and architects involved in this program participated as a way to bring their specialized knowledge to a broader public and thus help improve the lot of the most deprived sectors of Argentine society, especially those living in the villas miserias, Argentina’s slums and shantytowns on the fringe of the city.
