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Shaping Public Space in Informal Settlements: A Case Study

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  • Hesam Kamalipour

    (School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3WA, UK)

Abstract

Informal settlement has become one of the critical ways of producing space and accessing affordable housing, particularly in the context of the global South. Much of the established literature on the shaping of public space focuses on cities of the global North, and little is known about how public spaces are being shaped in more congested and less formal cities of the global South. This paper engages with the challenge of understanding the shaping of public space in informal settlements with a focus on exploring the spatial structures and increments of change in a case study in Medellin (Colombia). This is primarily an urban design exploration, which deploys direct observation, extensive urban photography, and field notes as key research methods. This paper contributes a critical case study, which has experienced forms of informal and formal transformations. The spatial structures and increments of change are explored in the selected case study and further discussed in the context of the relevant literature. This paper argues that much of the shaping of public space in informal settlements can be considered as “unfinished” in the sense that their “incompleteness” enables a degree of flexibility for possible adaptations in relation to individual/collective needs and desires. The article also reflects on how producing mixed morphologies can be considered as an attempt that may possibly facilitate future forms of formalisation and/or upgrading by enabling a degree of visual resemblance with what is considered as the formal city. The findings of this study can inform the related upgrading practices by providing a better understanding of how public spaces are being shaped in informal settlements.

Suggested Citation

  • Hesam Kamalipour, 2023. "Shaping Public Space in Informal Settlements: A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-17, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:4:p:3781-:d:1073232
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hesam Kamalipour, 2020. "Improvising Places: The Fluidity of Space in Informal Settlements," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-14, March.
    2. repec:idb:brikps:publication-detail,7101.html?id=4643 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Jota Samper & Jennifer A. Shelby & Dean Behary, 2020. "The Paradox of Informal Settlements Revealed in an ATLAS of Informality: Findings from Mapping Growth in the Most Common Yet Unmapped Forms of Urbanization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-25, November.
    4. Bocarejo, Juan Pablo & Portilla, Ingrid Joanna & Velásquez, Juan Miguel & Cruz, Mónica Natalia & Peña, Andrés & Oviedo, Daniel Ricardo, 2014. "An innovative transit system and its impact on low income users: the case of the Metrocable in Medellín," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 49-61.
    5. Paul Jones, 2021. "Distance and proximity matters: understanding housing transformation through micro-morphology in informal settlements," International Journal of Housing Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(2), pages 169-195, May.
    6. Hesam Kamalipour & Aminreza Iranmanesh, 2021. "Morphogenesis of Emerging Settlements: Mapping Incremental Urbanism," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-16, January.
    7. Peter Brand & Julio D. Dávila, 2011. "Mobility innovation at the urban margins," City, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(6), pages 647-661, December.
    8. Matthijs Van Oostrum, 2022. "Appropriating public space: transformations of public life and loose parts in urban villages," Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(1), pages 84-105, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jorge Gallego Méndez & Lina M. García-Moreno & Jackeline Murillo-Hoyos & Ciro Jaramillo Molina, 2023. "Social Inequality in Popular Neighborhoods: A Pre- and Post-Pandemic Perspective from Joint Accessibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-16, July.
    2. Shan Guan & Jianjun Wang, 2023. "Research on the Optimal Design of Community Public Space from the Perspective of Social Capital," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-21, June.
    3. Ni Zhang & Li Zhu & Jiang Li & Yilin Sun & Xiaokang Wang & Honglin Wu, 2023. "The Spatial Interface of Informal Settlements to Women’s Safety: A Human-Scale Measurement for the Largest Urban Village in Changsha, Hunan Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-22, July.

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