This article discusses results of a transdisciplinary study conducted in a Metropolitan Buenos Aires peripheral neighborhood. This study combines social science and natural sciences insights with the local knowledge of the affected population in order to better understand socio-environmental problems and contribute to their sustainable solution. Between 2008 and 2011, an ethnographic study on the neighbors' perception of pollution-related problems was conducted. Within this process, a Permanent Environmental Observatory was brought forth, initially focused on monitoring the quality of running water and wastewaters and assessing the self-depuration capacity of the watercourses surrounding the neighborhood. One on the main innovations of the study here presented lies on the participation of the local population in the design of the Observatory and the taking and analysis of samples.
Urban pollution; environmental remediation; environmental studies; Buenos Aires Metropolitan Region; local knowledge
