Housing informality in Buenos Aires: Past, present and future?

Jean-Louis van Gelder, Maria Cristina Cravino and Fernando Ostuni
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Jean-Louis van Gelder: Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR), Netherlands
Maria Cristina Cravino: Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento, Argentina
Fernando Ostuni: Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina

Urban Studies, 2016, vol. 53, issue 9, 1958-1975

Abstract: As in most other Latin American cities, a principal way of accessing housing for the urban poor in Buenos Aires has been through the illegal occupation of land. Over a period of roughly eight decades, this has led to the formation of hundreds of informal settlements in the city. This article traces the historical development of informality in Argentina’s capital. It shows that different phases in this development, each with particular characteristics, can be discerned. Currently, the contours of a new phase, different from all previous ones, are taking shape. It will be argued that without an adequate understanding of the different conditioning factors of this new phase and an integrated approach to address them, informality in the city is bound to persist and even to increase in size, in spite of the country’s impressive recent economic growth and high government expenditure on social housing.

Keywords: Argentina; Buenos Aires; housing; informality; slums; South America; urbanisation and developing countries; villas miseria (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:53:y:2016:i:9:p:1958-1975

DOI: 10.1177/0042098015581801

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