Energy Landscapes: How Infrastructure Reshapes Territory in South America | ArchDaily

Save this picture!Belo Monte Dam and Hydropower Plant Construction in Brazil. Image by burakyalcin, via ShutterstockWritten by Daniela AndinoPublished on March 23, 2026 Share ShareFacebookTwitterMailPinterestWhatsappOrhttps://www.archdaily.com/1039641/energy-landscapes-how-infrastructure-reshapes-territory-in-south-america Clipboard "COPY" CopySome of the most significant transformations of South American landscapes have been produced not by cities, but by large infrastructures built to extract and distribute natural resources. Mining operations, energy systems, and transport networks have connected remote landscapes to broader economic structures while transforming rural territories and urban settlements throughout the continent. These infrastructures do not simply occupy space; they reorganize it. They have not only supported economic growth but also reconfigured territories in ways that continue to generate political, environmental, and social debate across the continent. From this perspective, territories can be understood not as fixed geographic areas but as socio-ecological systems shaped by cultural, environmental, and political relations, a point emphasized by anthropologist Arturo Escobar in his work on territorial thinking in Latin America.+ 7 Save this picture!Dam on River, Itaipu Dam, Parana, Paraguay, Saplak. Image via PexelsWithin this broader landscape, hydroelectric megaprojects became among the most significant infrastructure interventions of the twentieth...