Changing Informal Settlements in Latin American Cities

Informal urban settlements, which have long characterized the urbanization

process in Latin America, expanded dramatically during the 1950s and

1960s. By the 1970s, large South American cities housed from 25 percent

to over 50 percent of their inhabitants in informal settlements (Portes and

Walton, 1981).

Simply defined, urban informal settlements are low-income residential areas

that are built incrementally by their owner-occupants and are initially illegal

due to either land invasion or private subdivision in contravention of official

planning regulations. Unless eradicated, they tend to become accepted and legalized

by government, evolve in appearance and land use, and, in many cases,

are increasingly difficult to distinguish from other low-class residential areas.

Given the eventual heterogeneity of (initially) informal settlements, distinction

from other housing types for statistical purposes has been less common and

less relevant during the 1980s.

 This chapter reviews the changing character and role of urban informal settlements

in Latin America during the 1980s. Mter briefly placing informal settlements

within the context of the urbanization process, it focuses on two

central issues: informal "self-help" housing and the political and social organization

of informal settlement residents. A final section explores prospects and

needs in the 1990s.

 Generalizations for the whole of Latin America are necessarily precarious,

as the urbanization process and the role of informal settlements have varied

from country to country. Equally, the severity of the 1980s economic crisis

varied as did government economic and housing policies to face it. Differences

in political regime, sociocultural characteristics, and geographical conditions

will  also leave their imprint. Nevertheless, certain similarities emerge, which

will  be highlighted in this chapter