The Place of Housing Programs and Class Relations in Latin American Cities: The Development of Managua before 1980

Abstract

The relationships between state housing programs and elite social classes are fundamental to understanding contemporary urban development in Latin America. This investigation of the territorial development process starts by examining the distinct class interests within different urban regions of Nicaragua. It then explicates how state housing programs in Managua became a lucrative source of private capital for a particular social faction. Next, it analyzes the way in which the profits from housing were used as venture capital in a broader strategy to secure the class hegemony of this group. Finally, the broader implications of this case study for the development of Latin American cities are explored. Investigating the development of Latin American cities provides an excellent opportunity to identify the web of relation