Papers by Melissa Velazquez
This work explores urban informal housing and development strategies from a process centered pers... more This work explores urban informal housing and development strategies from a process centered perspective in the urban core of San José, Costa Rica. It seeks to explain how communities obtain change in formal housing status and move toward legal incorporation. Original fieldwork, comprised of field observation, archival documentation, and interviews, examined the nature of formalization as experienced by informal settlements. Guided by a theoretical framework based on models of the informal economy and political ecology, the results of this research demonstrate complex levels of formality expressed by housing communities, redefining traditional concepts of the urban periphery and informal sector. Furthermore, case studies and documented changes in registered land tenancy identify four stages in this process of formalization: squatter settlements, housing associations, housing projects, and formal incorporation. In a multi-scale web of players, including community-based organizations, NGOs, and government entities, understanding each stage is necessary for effective policymaking and positive urban transformation. iv ACKNOWLEGEMENTS I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Peter Herlihy for his continual encouragement and guidance as I pursued my geographic leanings. Special thanks also go to Dr. Anton Rosenthal and Dr. Garth Myers for not only contributing valuable feedback on this project, but inspiring me to think in new ways about urban spaces. I would like to express my appreciation to the KU Center of Latin American Studies and the KU Latin American Field Research Grant for making my work possible. My gratitude also extends to the faculty of the University of Costa Rica, who were an invaluable resource, particularly through the assistance of Dr. Guillermo Brenes and graduate student Javier Dueñas. Finally, my deepest thanks go to my family, both in Kansas and abroad. My husband Clint, who has lovingly supported me, through separation during field research and long nights of writing, shares in this accomplishment. I want to thank Tony and Diva for sharing their home, family, and country with me over the years. And, I am forever grateful to my parents Dr. and Mrs. David and Barbara Hartnett who planted the love of learning in their children's hearts and set an example of compassionate pursuit of understanding. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ………………………………………………………………………......iii Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………....iv Table of contents …………………………………………………………………v List of figures and images ……………………………………………………….vi Chapter 1 …………………………………………………………………………1 Framework …………………………………………………………….....5 Fieldwork and methods …………………………………………………11 Conceptualization of formalization ……………………………………..17 Chapter 2-San José's housing path …………………………………………….22 Urban periphery ………………………………………………………....22 Poverty, the economy, and housing …………………………………......29 Migration ……………………………………………………………......31 Concepts of housing and land ownership …………………………….....33 History of housing policy ……………………………………………….36 Chapter 3-Process ……………………………………………………………...48 Formalization: Squatter settlement ……………………………………...53 Formalization: Housing associations ……………………………………66 Formalization: Housing projects ………………………………………...73 Formalization: Formal incorporation ……………………………………80 Chapter 4-Conclusions …………………………………………………………87 Future of urban planning and formalization …………………………….89 Application of methods ………………………………………………….90 Limitations of study ……………………………………………………..91 Glossary of organizations and acronyms …...…………………………………...95 References ……………………………………………………………………….96 Human Settlements]. In addition, I conducted interviews with the director of ProDUS (Programa de Investigación en Desarrollo Urbano Sostenible) [Program for Research in Sustainable Urban Development] and the director of the Lending Department at FUPROVI, the leading Costa Rican NGO in the housing sector. Through these interviews, I learned about the urban housing problems facing San José, the approaches used to address them, and the roles played by each government and private entity. This information not only provided perspective on the current political ecology of housing, but the approaches presented indicated action at different stages of housing development and land formalization.
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Papers by Melissa Velazquez