Public intervention in informal settlements. New scenarios, new challenges

Abstract

Informal urban settlements are part of the urban landscape in Latin America. To address this public policy problem, states have implemented diverse strategies that have transitioned between housing settlement and eradication, assuming that the former has significant advantages over the latter. The Chilean case is no different. To discuss these ideas, two Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning projects in the province of Concepción, Chile, are analyzed. The discussion is based on the results of a quantitative study, with a probabilistic design and simple random sampling, with a sample of 1,130 families. The results indicate that, regardless of the project’s operation strategy, families are highly satisfied with their homes. However, they express a negative evaluation of neighbors and a perception of heterogeneity, resulting in social distancing regarding social relations within the neighborhood space. The results open new questions regarding social integration in social housing complexes.