Beyond the return to the centre: The new dynamism of central areas in the Metropolitan Area of Mendoza, Argentina (2001-2022)

Driven by urban recovery policies and academic debates, in recent decades, there has been a renewed interest in Latin American city centers, which has been referred to as a return to the built city. In this paper we take the areas undergoing residential substitution processes in the Metropolitan Area of Mendoza (Mendoza, Argentina) to ask what are the features that define the reconversion of its central areas. By analysing statistical information and using the technique of direct observation, we recorded the different processes that explain the high-rise development of the city's central areas. The hypothesis we suggest is that the Metropolitan Area of Mendoza exhibits a new dynamism in its centrality linked to socio-demographic transformations and housing changes that promote residential densification in valued areas of the metropoli.