Rethinking the Informal City: Critical Perspectives from Latin America (Remapping Cultural History Book 11)

"Latin American cities have always been characterized by a strong tension between what is vaguely described as their formal and informal dimensions. However, the terms formal and informal refer not only to the physical aspect of cities but also to their entire socio-political fabric. Informal cities and settlements exceed the structures of order, control and homogeneity that one expects to find in a formal city; therefore the contributors to this volume - from such disciplines as architecture, urban planning, anthropology, urban design, cultural and urban studies and sociology - focus on alternative methods of analysis in order to study the phenomenon of urban informality. This book provides a thorough review of the work that is currently being carried out by scholars, practitioners and governmental institutions, in and outside Latin America, on the question of informal cities." - [Publisher page][1] [1]: http://www.berghahnbooks.com/title.php?rowtag=HernandezRethinking List of Figures Acknowledgements Foreword by Rahul Mehrotra Introduction: Reimagining the Informal in Latin America by Felipe Hernández and Peter Kellett PART ONE: CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES The Form of the Informal: Investigating Brazilian Self-Built Housing Solutions by Fernando Luiz Lara Informal Practices in the Formal City: Housing, Disagreement and Recognition in Downtown São Paulo by Zeuler R. Lima and Vera M. Pallamin The Formal Architecture of Brasilia: An Analysis of the Contemporary Urban Role of its Satellite Settlements by Annalisa Spencer The Evolution of Informal Settlements in Chile: Improving Housing Condition in Cities by Paola Jirón Housing for the Poor in the City Centre: A Review of the Chilean Experience and a Challenge for Incremental Design by Margarita Greene and Eduardo Rojas PART TWO: CRITICAL PRACTICES Rules of Engagement: Caracas and the Informal City by Alfredo Brillembourg and Hubert Klumpner Integrated Informality in the Barrios of Havana by Ronaldo Ramirez Formal–Informal Connections in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro: The Favela-Bairro Programme by Roberto Segre Spatial Strategies and Urban Social Policy: Urbanism and Poverty Reduction in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro by Jorge Fiori and Zeca Brandão Urban and Social Articulation: Megacities, Exclusion and Urbanity by Jorge Mario Jáuregui Public-city in Manifesto: The Formal City In-formed by Public Interest by Claudio Vekstein Notes on Contributors Index Contents 6 List of Figures 8 Acknowledgements 10 Foreword 12 1 Introduction: Reimagining the Informal in Latin America 16 Part I: Critical Perspectives 36 2 The Form of the Informal: Investigating Brazilian 38 3 Informal Practices in the Formal City: Housing, Disagreement and Recognition in Downtown São Paulo 54 4 The Informal Architecture of Brasilia: An Analysis of the Contemporary Urban Role of its Satellite Settlements 68 5 The Evolution of Informal Settlements in Chile: Improving Housing Conditions in Cities 86 6 Housing for the Poor in the City Centre: A Review of the Chilean Experience and a Challenge for Incremental Design 106 Part II: Critical Practices 132 7 Rules of Engagement: Caracas and the Informal City 134 8 Integrated Informality in the Barrios of Havana 152 9 Formal–Informal Connections in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro: The Favela-Bairro Programme 178 10 Spatial Strategies and Urban Social Policy: Urbanism and Poverty Reduction in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro 196 11 Urban and Social Articulation: Megacities, Exclusion and Urbanity 222 12 Public-City in Manifesto: The Formal City In-formed by Public Interest 240 Notes on Contributors 252 Index 260 978-1-84545-582-8 Latin American cities have always been characterized by a strong tension between what is vaguely described as their formal and informal dimensions. However, despite intrinsic semantic implications, the terms formal and informal do not refer only to the physical aspect of cities but also to their entire socio-political fabric. Given the fact that informal cities and settlements exceed the structures of order, control and homogeneity expected to be found in the formal city, the wide-ranging essays in this volume from disciplinary areas such as anthropology, architecture, history, cultural and urban studies, and sociology are concerned with the need to produce alternative methods of analysis in order to study the phenomenon of urban informality. This book provides a thoroughgoing review of the work that is currently being carried out by scholars, practitioners and governmental institutions, in and outside Latin America, on the question of informal cities.