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Land Tenure and the Self-Improvement of Two Latin American Informal Settlements in Puerto Rico and Venezuela

Land Tenure and the Self-Improvement of Two Latin American Informal Settlements in Puerto Rico... Informal settlements are built by impoverished people on invaded unpermitted land, not only to save on the cost of housing, but also on the initial cost of infrastructure. In most developing countries, the cost of formal housing is high. It is almost impossible for people in a low-income group to own their own dwellings. Informal settlements are the only housing possibility for most of the urban poor. Land tenure has been considered an important, if not necessary, element for the legal installation of services and for the self-improvement of dwellings. When householders possess legal land tenure, they have a strong motivation to improve their dwellings and build structures with more permanent materials. However, even without land tenure, self-improvement still does take place in many settlements. This paper analyses housing self-improvement in two informal settlements: La Dolorita in Caracas, Venezuela, and La Perla in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Most of the people in those settlements do not have legal land tenure. However, even without any formal documentation (such as permits), there is perceived land tenure. This perception fuels a stronger sense of connection to the land than any documentation has the power to create. Surveys have been undertaken and comparisons have been made between the improvement process of dwellings with and without land tenure, which demonstrate that the level of improvement in the dwellings is not necessarily related to the land tenure status. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Urban Forum Springer Journals

Land Tenure and the Self-Improvement of Two Latin American Informal Settlements in Puerto Rico and Venezuela

Urban Forum , Volume 24 (1) – Aug 31, 2012

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References (30)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2012 by Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
Subject
Social Sciences, general; Human Geography; Landscape/Regional and Urban Planning; Population Economics; Political Science, general; Sociology, general
ISSN
1015-3802
eISSN
1874-6330
DOI
10.1007/s12132-012-9162-0
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Informal settlements are built by impoverished people on invaded unpermitted land, not only to save on the cost of housing, but also on the initial cost of infrastructure. In most developing countries, the cost of formal housing is high. It is almost impossible for people in a low-income group to own their own dwellings. Informal settlements are the only housing possibility for most of the urban poor. Land tenure has been considered an important, if not necessary, element for the legal installation of services and for the self-improvement of dwellings. When householders possess legal land tenure, they have a strong motivation to improve their dwellings and build structures with more permanent materials. However, even without land tenure, self-improvement still does take place in many settlements. This paper analyses housing self-improvement in two informal settlements: La Dolorita in Caracas, Venezuela, and La Perla in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Most of the people in those settlements do not have legal land tenure. However, even without any formal documentation (such as permits), there is perceived land tenure. This perception fuels a stronger sense of connection to the land than any documentation has the power to create. Surveys have been undertaken and comparisons have been made between the improvement process of dwellings with and without land tenure, which demonstrate that the level of improvement in the dwellings is not necessarily related to the land tenure status.

Journal

Urban ForumSpringer Journals

Published: Aug 31, 2012

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