Informal Settlements Upgrading as Housing Policy. Insights from the Latin America and Caribbean experience

Despite 30 years of public policies aimed at improving and regularising informal settlements in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and over 50 years of isolated projects and programmes, these settlements continue to grow, and many still exhibit high levels of deprivation and segregation. This experience has built a significant body of knowledge on situated understandings of informal settlements and on the proposal and implementation of effective strategies that complement the policy and production of social housing. This Network Event aims to promote a critical review of the experience and to outline prospective initiatives to improve informal settlements and achieve more robust social housing policies. Such policies must consider the current context of high migration rates and changes in household size and structure, along with an urbanisation process that seeks not only access to basic infrastructure and sanitation, but also to the opportunities offered by urban life. The design and implementation of effective policies also require considering biodiversity loss and the climate crisis, which disproportionately affect residents of informal settlements. Therefore, in this context of high demand, change, and vulnerability, it is not a matter of simply repeating past experiences, but of situating them in specific contexts and, at the same time, seeking answers in new areas. Case studies from various countries will be discussed: early examples from Chile, whose Neighbourhood Improvement Programs provided sanitation infrastructure and property titles in the 80s; Brazil, whose national and subnational housing policies initiated the urbanisation of favelas as a core strategy of public policy; and more recently in Mexico, the Utopias project to combat socio-territorial inequality. Each of these experiences has its flip side, which will also be addressed: in Chile, forced evictions broke ties and social networks of the inhabitants, increasing segregation; in Brazil, the maintenance of infrastructure and public spaces, as well as participation, had severe limitations. The Network Event will follow up on the discussion in WUF13 by developing a document for free dissemination through our networks. This document should acknowledge the variety of cases and contexts inherent in the precariousness of informal settlements and compile a set of proposals, like a toolbox, with a series of alerts and warnings about risks, while also highlighting potential opportunities.