Greater San Juan

The Greater San Juan Agglomerate (AGSJ) is the most important urban area in the province of the same name, both for its size and for its dynamism and population concentration. It is located in the Tulum Valley, in central western Argentina, within the so-called “Diagonal Arida Sudamericana” (South American Arid Diagonal). Given the climatic conditions, life is possible, thanks to the systematization of the waters of the San Juan River, coming out from the Andean Cordillera. In 2010, the AGSJ housed 67% of the province’s population, also concentrating a variety of secondary and tertiary activities. The spatial units of analysis considered are the census tracts according to the 2010 National Census of Population, Homes and Housing. The results obtained indicate that the Capital department is the one with the highest quality of life indices. This value, in general lines, descends from the center toward the periphery of the agglomerate. The education, health, housing, and environmental dimensions intervene in its determination. In each case, benefit variables and cost variables are considered. In its spatial behavior, it is observed that the former decrease their percentages from the center to the periphery, while the latter increase their values in the same direction, a situation that favors the provincial capital and part of the Rivadavia department, with quality indices of life ranging between 7.67 and 9.84 points. The lowest values are found in the north, south, and east periphery of the agglomerate, with values between 6.33 and 7.02 points. This area corresponds to the Chimbas, Rawson, Pocito, and Santa Lucía departments.