The informal settlements formation: a process developed by different social actors

Abstract

The informal settlements are part of Latin America’s socio – urban reality. An excluded reality signed by the poverty of the habitat and its inhabitants. For that reason, we considered appropriate to determine the social actors that participate in the formation and consolidation of these settlements. In addition, we studied the mechanisms used in the establishment of informal settlements. To achieve this goal we observed the way how this type of habitat is developed and analyzed different documentary sources. The information from these sources allowed us to build a theoretical approximation that explains the different participation modes practiced during the creation process of these settlements. The findings of this research reveal that diverse social actors, both public and private, take part in this process. We also observed inhabitants of these settlements become builders of their habitat through collective actions.