Recent informal settlements upgrading practices in Latin America: physical and regulatory approaches and their impacts

• Grant number: 24/23583-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Urban and Regional Planning - Urban and Regional Services
• Principal Investigator: Vanessa Elias de Oliveira
• Grantee: Camila Pereira Saraiva
• Host Institution: Centro de Engenharia, Modelagem e Ciências Sociais Aplicadas (CECS). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Santo André , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/12259-8 - Center for Favela Studies (CEFAVELA)., AP.CEPID

Abstract

This research project proposes an investigation, from a relational perspective, ofdifferent informal settlement upgrading projects implemented since the early 2000sin Latin American cities. Although there is a vast academic production on thesepolicies in specific contexts, there are still few studies that aim to address this topicfrom a regional perspective or connect different cities in the Global South. Theobjective is to characterize the urbanistic and regulatory approaches of theinterventions carried out, as well as to analyze the quality of the results achieved.The project seeks to continue and deepen the knowledge previously developed bythe proponent on the trajectory of slum urbanization policies in São Paulo, Medellín,and Buenos Aires. To this end, methodologically, the analysis of the characteristicsand effects of informal settlement upgrading projects in these three Latin Americancities will rely primarily on qualitative methods, such as bibliographic anddocumentary analysis, interviews, and field observations. These analyses willenable the development of experimental comparative studies, considering both thesimilarities and differences among the projects examined, as well as theidentification of possible mechanisms that may generate common patterns indifferent territories and contexts.