Limas Slums: Problems or Solutions

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Limas SlumsProblems or Solutions?

• Professor Bill Chambers
• Liverpool Hope University
• President
• Geographical Association
• Annual Conference 30th March 2005
• University of Derby

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Lecture Structure

• Peru
• Migration
• Housing in Lima
• Growth of Lima
• Progressive Development
• Employment
• Government Policies
• Hope or Despair?

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• 1. Peru

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Source www.politicalresources.net
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Costa The Atacama Desert
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Peru and UK(World Bank 2004)
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Peru Three Zones Costa Atacama Desert (driest in
the world) Sierra Andes (2nd highest mountains
in world) Selva Amazon (largest tropical
rainforest in world) Source Coleccion
Huascaran, Lima
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Sierra The Andes
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Selva The Amazon Basin
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Peru Population by Region
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• 2. Migration

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Primacy of Limathe head of a giant on the body
of a dwarf
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Reasons for Primacy

• capital city (work, culture, civilisation)
• largest port (Callao)
• traditional home of Vice-Roy in Colonial

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Migration

• City centre v Paisanos
• 40 Costa
• 50 Andes
• mainly central-southern Andes
• young/ambitious
• earthquakes

• rural poverty
• land tenure in Andes
• infant mortality
• guerrillas
• cocaine
• El Nino
• modernisation of coast

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Source Children in Peru, Peru Support Unit 1991
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• 3. Housing in Lima

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Callejon
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Housing for Lima Poor

• Slums/turgurios and Squatter settlements
• alleys tenements (callejones) 64
• workers housing 20
• decaying mansions 11
• city plots (corralones) 5
• government projects
• private sector
• squatter settlements (barriadas)

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Squatter Settlements

• Barriadas
• Urbanizaciones Populares
• Urbanisationes Marginales
• Pueblos Jovenes
• Asentiamentos Humanos

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Barriadas

• A residential community
• formed by low income families in which the
• houses are constructed in large measure by the
  residents themselves and
• which are generally but not exclusively formed
  illegally.
• (Collins 1975)

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• 4. Growth of Lima

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Lima Population Growth
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Source J. Matos Mar 1977 Las Barriadas de Lima
1957
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Source J. Matos Mar 1977 Las Barriadas de Lima
1967
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Source J. Matos Mar 1977 Las Barriadas de Lima
1977
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Centro cerro
San Cristobal
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my house
Rio Rimac floodplain Carmen de la Legua and San
Martin de Porres 1965
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Andes foothills
Comas 16-3-1945
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my house
Comas 1965
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Southern Atacama desert Tupac Amaru
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Geographical distributionunoccupied, state or
church or absentee landlord owned
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The Invasion

• After several years residence
• Pay to join invasion committee
• Planned by architects
• Holy Days, National Holidays, Public Holidays,
  weekends, government crisis
• Appeal to patriotism or religiosity of nation or
  landlords

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• 5. Progressive Development
• (Consolidation)
• (Positive Adaptation)

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Progressive Development

• The gradual development of
• housing
• community
• utilities
• employment.
• Depends on
• finance
• health
• motivation
• priorities
• government policy

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Progressive Development of Homes

• chosa (matting hut)
• peripheral wall
• internal walls
• concrete roof
• second floor
• more

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chosas
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Chosa, foundations and peripheral wall
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Chosa, shop and peripheral wall
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Chosa, peripheral wall from casa noble
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cement bag
Wood
Water cylinder
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Roofing tiles, iron, electricity tubes
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Roofing concreting
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Casa noble Carmen de la Legua 1965
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Progressive Development(after Turner 1967)
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Moving from Carmen de la Legua to Comas
Carmen de la Legua 1965 view of my house
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Carmen de la Legua 1982 view of my house
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Carmen de la Legua 2003 view of home
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Carmen de la Legua 1965
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Carmen de la Legua 1982
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Carmen de la Legua 2003 By 1974 its
transformation into an urban barrio was almost
complete paved roads, uniform lotes, water and
electrical services, urban style houses
constructed with permanent materials, and a
central plaza around which stood municipal
buildings, a movie theatre, and a church all were
established. (Lobo 1982 p 42)
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Town Hall Carmen de la Legua 2003
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Comas 1965 view left from front door
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Comas 1982 view left from front door
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Comas 2003 view left from front door
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Comas Avenida Tupac Amaru 1965
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Comas Avenida Tupac Amaru 1982
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Comas Avenida Tupac Amaru 2003
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Maria Restaurante El Once 1965 and Salon de
Belleza 1983 Comas
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Comas private sector housing 2003
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• 6. Employment

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Ambulante selling tobacco, chewing gum, sweets
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Open air office
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domestica
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Mobile furniture store
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Julio and Helsomina(Susan Lobo 1982)

• 1969
• Belt factory (J)
• Tailor (J)
• Kerosene
• Metal recycling
• Vegetables at market
• Wool balls
• Brick recycling
• Guinea pigs
• Chickens
• Chicha
• TV

• 1974
• Belt factory
• Front of house store
• Beer
• Zappo
• Ducks
• Chicken
• Goats
• Sheep
• Wool
• Refrigerator
• Typewriter (daughter)
• Electric repair (son)

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INCOME

• Job
• Overtime
• Fringe benefits
• Part time jobs (cachuelas)
• Reciprocity exchange labour for goods
• Reciprocity exchange labour for labour
• Varied and flexible repertoire

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Employment informal formal

• Informal
• housefront stores
• car cleaning
• domestics
• ambulantes
• bootblacks
• seamstresses
• artisans repair and creation

• Formal
• wages
• social security
• drivers
• Builders
• waiters
• clerks
• shop assistants
• factory workers

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• 7. Government Policies

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Government Policies

• Do nothing
• Eradicate bulldoze, burn
• Contain Law
• Prevent planning, municipal housing
• Facilitate site service, credit, technical,
  improve incorporate
• Correct remodel, relocate

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• 8. Hope or Despair?
• Problem or Solution?

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The Informal Approach

• Advantages
• Cheaper
• Non-monetary input
• Early escape from slums
• Added value to land
• Stimulated construction and service industries

• Disadvantages
• Slow
• Poor conditions
• Low quality
• Uneconomic use of space resources

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Limas barriadas Why so successful? (John
Turner 2004)

• When dwellers control the major decisions and
• are free to make use of their own contributions
  in the design, construction or management of
  their housing,
• both this process and the environment produced
  stimulate individual and social well-being.

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Limas barriadas Why so successful? (Susan Lobo
1992)

• Positive adaptation
• Build a community (material and spiritual)
• Accomplish goals
• View themselves and their future positively
• Through
• Kinship and paisanos
• Alliances and compadrazgo
• Control migration house construction
• Flexibility

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References

• http//comasweb.com
• Dietz, H. 1998 Urban Poverty, Political
  Participation and the State Lima 1970-1990.
  University of Pittsburgh Press
• Gilbert, A. 1994 The Latin American City. Latin
  America Bureau.
• Lloyd, P. 1979 Slums of Hope? Pelican.
• Lloyd, P. 1980 The Young Towns of Lima.
  Cambridge University Press.
• Lobo, S. 1982 A House of My Own. University of
  Arizona Press.
• Morrish, M. 1984 Squatter Settlement in the Third
  World. Geography 16-19. Longman.
• Smith, C.T. 1988 Population and Development in
  Peru. John Murray.