Spatial Justice and Informal Settlements : Integral Urban Projects in the Comunas of Medellín

Spatial Justice and Informal Settlements: Integral Urban Projects in the Comunas of Medellín links the discourses of informal urbanism and spatial justice in the context of public space-based governmental programmes to upgrade informal settlements in Latin America. It argues for the importance of combining measures for equity and empowerment with positive recognition, i.e. recognition which is based on valuing the social and material achievements of the settlers as a contribution to urban life and culture in its own right. It presents an inquiry into how public open spaces serve the goal of increasing spatial justice and the quality of life in informal settlements. It provides an in-depth study of the Integral Urban Project (Proyecto Urbano Integral/PUI in Spanish) in Comuna 13, a low-income settlement in Medellín, Colombia. Drawing on extensive fieldwork to understand people’s everyday spaces and socio-spatial practices, the book assesses the design, production, use, and management of some of the public open spaces established under the PUI programme. It thus also offers an account of the diversity of everyday open spaces and landscapes in this informal settlement. This book is a valuable contribution to the field of open spaces in informal settlements and spatial justice, especially for scholars, researchers, and graduate students with an interest in urban development and upgrading and related socio-spatial issues in Latin America. Front Cover -- Spatial Justice and Informal Settlements -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- List of Abbreviations -- About the Author -- 1. Introduction -- Spatial Justice -- Spatial Justice in Informal Settlements -- Open Spaces in Informal Settlements -- Objectives, Themes and Research Questions -- The Research Setting: Medellín and Comuna 13, an Informal Settlement -- Notes on Methodology -- Unidad Deportiva El Socorro -- Parque 20 de Julio -- Parque Ambiental y Paseo Urbano Juan XXIII -- Structure of the Book -- 2. Just Informal Settlements: Upgrading Informality and Spatial Justice -- Informal Settlements -- Upgrading Informal Settlements -- Critical Evaluations of Leading Examples of Upgrading Initiatives -- Spatial Justice -- Understandings of Spatial Justice and Implications for Applicability to Informal Settlements -- The Everyday as a Form of Recognition -- Spatial Justice and Public Space -- Aspect of Justice in the Upgrading of Public Open Spaces in Informal Settlements -- The Quality of the Material Space -- Functional Considerations -- The Symbolic Value in the Design Language -- The Integrity of Its Production Process -- Management and Regulation -- The Use of Space -- 3. Everyday Open Spaces -- Streets, Paths, Stairs -- Front Gardens -- Sports Fields -- Play Areas -- Squares -- Parks -- Green Setbacks -- Leftover Open Spaces -- Leftover Landscape -- Other Spaces -- 4. PUI and the Production of Space -- Assessing the Processes, Products and Effects of Upgrading -- Assessing the Process -- Challenging the Speed of Change -- Questions of Representation -- Challenging the Level of Participation -- Assessing the Products -- Increased Use of Public Space -- Global Design Aesthetics vs. Local Distinctiveness -- Questions about the Legitimacy of Political Image- Making -- Assessing the Effects 'Spatial Justice and Informal Settlements: Integral Urban Projects in the Comunas of Medell¿̐ưin' links the discourses of informal urbanism and spatial justice in the context of public space-based governmental programmes to upgrade informal settlements in Latin America. It argues for the importance of combining measures for equity and empowerment with positive recognition, i.e. recognition which is based on valuing the social and material achievements of the settlers as a contribution to urban life and culture in its own right. It presents an inquiry into how public open spaces serve the goal of increasing spatial justice and the quality of life in informal settlements. It provides an in-depth study of the Integral Urban Project (Proyecto Urbano Integral/PUI in Spanish) in Comuna 13, a low-income settlement in Medell¿̐ưin, Colombia. Drawing on extensive fieldwork to understand people's everyday spaces and socio-spatial practices, the book assesses the design, production, use, and management of some of the public open spaces established under the PUI programme. It thus also offers an account of the diversity of everyday open spaces and landscapes in this informal settlement. This book is a valuable contribution to the field of open spaces in informal settlements and spatial justice, especially for scholars, researchers, and graduate students with an interest in urban development and upgrading and related socio-spatial issues in Latin America Spatial Justice and Informal Settlements links the discourses of informal urbanism with spatial justice in the context of in situ governmental programmes oriented around public open space and designed to upgrade informal settlements in Latin America.