1995 es Corden, W. Max Corden, W. Max Una zona de libre comercio en el Hemisferio Occidental: posibles implicancias para América Latina En: La liberalización del comercio en el Hemisferio Occidental - Washington, DC : BID/CEPAL, 1995 - p. 13-40 2014-01-02T14:51:16Z hdl:11362/33013 7 v7; í ^ : 7 4 lROYECTO !1ARTTA17CIDA KAREN G IFFIN Decemlier 1978 * i. V- íi^*j ^ í ■ S t« í ? -- « U-6« H . « I f ” ”;!, : ■ I NDEX I. THE I RECARIOUS SEITLEMEm’ IN METROTOLITAN AREAS ’ A Funciaiiiental Question: Solution II. Pane Tlic Possibility of a market illE PRECARIOUS URBAN SEITITMENI’: III. ECOLOGICAL MARGIN^iLITY: NECESSITIES a) A CONCEPTUAL MODEL THE CITi^ AND HIE INivlEDIATE. n The Organization of Urban Production: of production and consumption the separation 13 b) U c) Land as an urban product 15 c l) TV. The Production and Reproduction of the Urban Labour Force The Problems of land for Housing and Spatial Location of the Population 16 ACCUMULATION STIATEGIES: TIVE STOUCIHRE ■ a) TlQi DEVELOl’ MLOT OF 11 Hi PRODUC­ Accuiaulation Strategies and Economic Marginality: The forination of the labour force 19 Accumulation Strategics and the Production of Housing 22 SURVIVAl. SlRATEGIES IN PRECARIOUS SElTLEMLiiVIS: ADAITATION TO POVERIT 32 a) Networks of interchange and mutual assistance 33 b) Fajiiily stincture: 34 c) Patterns of repioduction 35 c) F Family roles 37 e) Economic Activities 41 b) V. VI. extension and fluidity SURVIVAL SIMT E G I E S IN IdlECARIOUS SETELmiiNTS: OF SPACE AND CONSTRUCT’ !ON OCCUPATION 46 ■- .i- ■ H ’ .ir 11 Page a) 46 b) The iroduction of Housing in precarious Urban Settlements so c) ^ Occupation of space The Improvement of precarious Settlements 51 58 VII. PUBLIC IKTERVLKTION IN METROPOLITAN .\REAS lAiblic Control of Land Use and Land Values 59 Infrastructure and Services 63 Public Investment in the Housing Market: Construction Finance and 68 Social Interest Housing Sites and Services Projects: 65 Self-help Housing 70 VIII. CONCLUSION 72 IX. BIBLIOGRXPIIY 79 Wi^rprl,;. :V m - .■ y ^-^^i-f ,• ,1 ’V ! rV * 1 ■ ■-‘ 7^/ tv/ .•. ^^ ^J ^• ♦ ^^■ A ■ ■ ‘ •f ! h.• ■ TOE PRECARIOUS SETTLEMENT I METROPOLH^XN AREAS N Tlie precarious urban settlement, in the riiost simple terms, is iden­ tifiable by its socio-physical characteristics -the concept refers to those increasingly visible urban areas composed of crowded, unliealthy and defi­ cient dwellings wliich lack the basic services, inhabited by a population distinguis’ ed by its poverty. n In this sense it represents, to a large de­ gree, an overlap in the dimensions of economic marginality (defined initial­ ly as Tlic population whicli depends on unsta.hlc, low income) and ecological marginality (a social configuration in whicli immediate necessities such as food, water, clotliing, and shelter arc inadequately served). The boundaries of this phenomenon are not easy to establish, not only because of definitional problems which iiievitably involve quality of life indicators, but also because the quantitative parameters which must be re­ lied on to a large degree, such as census figures, tend to be nermanently outdated by tlie rapid ciuantitati.ve changes which have occurred with ruralurban migration. As a result, quantitative estimates oE this phenomenon at aiiy point in time vary widely. The United Nations (llol)al Review of Human Settlements (1976) indicates the following proportions of slimi-dwellers in major Latin .Anerican metropolies, which may be considered as a rough guide1in o : B.A., 1970 ............ SI Brasilia, 1962 . . . .411 Rio, 1970 ■ Santiago, 1964 . . . .251 i Bogota, 1969 ......... 601 Mexico, 1966 ......... 461 301 - ■ i;rtF ....... ■ ■ ^ ’ -2- Lima, 1970 ............. 40s Caracas, 1974 ........ 42 6 ■ Tlie discussion wliich raj^cd aroLuid the (ucst.ion of tlie internai charactcristics of ])recariOus urban areas in Latin y\]iierica has been largely directed toward later refutation of earlier descriptions (which character­ ized them as containiiig a disorganized, alienated population engaged in illegal activities such as prostitution, uetty theft, etc.)) a new global characterization maintaining that they arc, in fact often heterogeneous in class structure, containing largely ¡■oor but decent persons with social oj-ganization, political interest, etc. struggling to maintain, or insert tliemsclves, in the urban socioeconomic structure. Not all are migrants, sonic are industrial workers, even liberal professionals. It has also been established that such areas are far from static, and that considerable im­ provements have sometimes taken place over time. Pcrivips the only area of complete agreement is that they have grown extensively in the last 20 years. Given tlie extremely liigh gi’ owth rates of these areas, and the reported diversity wlüch they include, tliere is an evident need for analytic and dynamic conceptualization to capture this diversity and address tlie ques­ tion of changes over time. As an area of investigation, however, precarious urban settlements liave been visible for a relatively short period of time, and the natural variation in research interests, theoretical orientations, metliodologies, etc. has resulted in a body of information which only with difficulty, provides a basis for comparison across time, although it serves to illustrate the complex and many-faceted nature of the phenomenon. The evident need to reduce this complexity has resulted, in this in­ vestigation, in an initial focus on tliesc communities as consumers of imifledidte necessities -in particular iiousing and related urban services. t \ . ‘ . i.\ i .V -3- 4■ ■ ■ *^ ■■ ■ A Fundamental Question: The possibility of a market solution The possibility of access to housing and other basic necessities in a market economy depends in tlie first instance on the possibility of acCumulating a monetary surplus which could be applied to this end. Tenden­ cies in tlie distribution of income in Latin America over the last 20 years p indicate that majority sectors are increasingly disadvantaged. Although tlvis relative inequity docs not in itself reveal the consuming possibili­ ties of tlie economically disadvantaged, the inflationary tendencies in tliesc oconoDiios, when combineil with regressive income distribution, result in a deterioration of the real purchasing power of income compared to the cost of immediate necessities. (Rosenbluth, : 446; Gilbert and Ward, inpress: 306; Singer, 1974: 95; Pradilla, 1978:14). The effect, at the lowest levels of the income scale, is a necessity to apply most income to obtaining food, and even then ;ubnutrition of large segments of this population occurs. As reported in one study of a precarious area-: ... in many cases the quantity destined for food iiurchasc equals the total family income... many respondents declared that family income does not permit adequate nutrition, even from a quantitative point of view. There are families who do not eat at the end of the month because of an absolute lack of financial resour­ ces to acquire food. (Saffiotti, 1975:44-45; ; IJtria, 1975: iv,! i I ■■^ • ■ ■ ■ %/ \vir5. X ,,■• ?^v,f •• -; * ■ * ■ 439; Amat y Leon, 1978:22; Singer, 1974; Leeds, 1974: 94n17). Another study notes; ^ .. the 2 ° . of Venezuelan families, who receive 3£ an income inferior to SOO Bolivars montlily, liavc no income even to cover the minimum food iiecessities. The 53.61 of the f;imilies who receive a monthly income of 1000 Bolivars have nothing to spend on liousing (supposing that tliey first cover the expenses of food, clothing, healtli, and transportation). (Bolivar f Lovera, , 1978:75). One analysis of consumption patterns of the Latin Americ:m population as a wliolc indicates an average of 171, of family income (cerca 1961) is spent on liousing, lieating, and lighting. IVlien translated into average absolute sums, this reveals that the poorest 501 of the population allocates an ave­ rage of $9.35 nionthly for housing, which represents a deficit in consump­ tion-power of 80-841, comnared to costs (Litria, 1975:440). Another an;rlysis, based on a CF;P.^L/World Bank study of income distri­ bution, makes the assumption tliat industrial and independent workers could ajiply 101 of their income to acquiring a liome, piescnting some comparative statistics on the length of time which would be required to do so under these conditions: In Costa Rica, a home of 70nr would be acquired by 541 of f;imilies in * 35 years; in Venezuela, a home of 60m 2 would require 19 years for 741 of 2 the population; in Chile, a home of 80m would require 40-48 years for 501 ■ll ■■ ., itfA,. : of the population; in Brazil, this ^2l of the population would require 40-46 years to acquire a home (Rosenbluth, : 390-96). ■.Considering the question from the point of view of production, figures based on the 1965 housing deficit illustrate that the production required even to maintain the deficit (through construction of 10 houses annually per 1000 inliabitants) would rcc[uirc a constiuction capacity six times great­ er than the existing capacity at that time. The actual yearly growth of the construction sector in the five years preceding this date, however, was of the nature of 5.9°o. In terms of the monetary investment necessary, to produce these houses would rcciuirc an annual investment of $6065 million dollars, which figure is equal to 38° of total Investment in the region (Utria, 1975: 445-449). Numeric estimates on the evolution of the housing deficit presented in the United Nations report Mejoramiento de tugurios y asentajnientos precarios, 1972, places the deficit at 13 million units in 1962; 22 million in 1967; 27-30 million in 1970, with the estimated deficit in 1985 reaching 50 miLlion units, (.sec Segre, 1975). figures such as these serve to underline the well-known fact tliat the liousing which exists in the present-day market is costly and cannot be paid for by the low-income sectors, which are... the most numerous. (Utria, 1975:427). The result, equally well known, and tlie focus of our interest, ... has been the large-scale emergence of squatter or uncontrolled settlements and the forced partition of the system of urb:m land allocation into’a dual structure: one fonnal and governed by capitalist market forces, the other infoimal and ruled by popular demand. (Walton, 1976:28). Housing ]iroduction of this ¡nforinnr sector has been estimated as up to 631. of ur- H ban construction (Deneke, forthcoming: 1 0 ; see also Villavicencio ^ Rodriguez, 1978:16). The extent to which Latin American governments have moved toward state progjrams of liousing finance and development in the last two decades indiedtes recognition, on this level, of the need for some intervention in the formal market mechanisms whicli have operated in the housing area. Clearly, the possibility of effective public policy depends on an imderstanding of historical processes which have created, and which continue to re-create, the situation described above. Tlie continuing deterioration of Latin American metropolita]! areas is testimony to the fact that much remains to be done in developing an adequate conceptualization of this social reality, which would provide the necessary guidelines for intervention. follows is oriented toward such an eventuality. The discussion which As such, it is an attempt to provide a global conceptualization, or the initial basis for a more rigo­ rous systemic model. The evident advantages of a systemic approach, which identifies the major actors and processes involved in the formation of the human settle­ ment, stem from its attempt to take into account the interconnected nature of complex socioeconomic systems, and its resultant inherently dynamic nature. Clearly, any attempt to guide the development of human settlements requires a basis of this ty]ie. On the other hand, the major virtue of a global approach, whicli resides in its scope, has undeniable disadvantages when applied to an object of analysis as abstract as precarious settlements in LjitjnAriierican metropolies: it assumes that similarities across countries arc sufficient to warrant a considerable degree of generalization, and corresponding theoretical priority. This assumption accounts for the • 7 - h fairly high level of abstraction and the attempt to stress dynamic tenden­ cies which characterize the discussion which follows. If correct, however, this approach should provide the basis for further refinement through the x later inclusion of concrete variation which occurs in specific cases. t ’ v i # “ - .y- ì THE PRECARIOUS URBAN SETTLEMFJnT A CONCEPTUAL NDDEL I: In the conceptualization proposed here, the precarious urban settle­ ment is h)piothesized to represent a rational response to unregulated ma• « .nipulation of urbiin land for profit, to tlic exclusion of immediate demands for shelter (IValton, 1976:44). Wl\ile this Ipnaothesis situates the precarious settlement and its ra­ tional ity as the center of interest, it also defines the phenomenon as essentially reactive in nature, subordinate to a dynamic which is not in­ ternally-generated, and which furthermore is opposed to tlie interests of the inhabitants of the precarious settlement. Tills, in turn, suggests the utility of a model of competition ivhich identifies the competing in­ terests and the mechanisms which regulate them. To this end, the following skeletal conceptual map is proposed: OCCUPATION OF SPACE, PRODUCTION OF HOUSING, AID RELATED SERVICES (2YSA) ECONailC M A R G I N A L m ^ m.irginalized population ---- survival strategies public sector ECOLOGI CAI. MARC INAL ITY - precarious settlement management of urban processes I V \ private sector accumulation strategies formation of the settlement Several points should be noted with regard to this conceptualization. First,, the relevant object of competition is urban space and BYSA. Second, the‘formation of the human settlement is seen to be the result of two dis­ crete but interrelated dynamics in v/hich the interests of the economically marginal population in access to space and BYSA are opposed to the interests of the private sector. Third, this opposition of interests is mediated by iM the State, in its capacity as manager o£ urban institutions and authority ■ over control of the resources necessary for the development o£ the urban environment. , Thus, although the marginalized population and the private sector are seen to be in competition for resources, they do not directly confront one another. ITirtheniiorc, their .actions m.ay be char.actcrizcd as motivated by different general concenas, within which the question of access to space and BYSA has a discrete meaning. These general concerns can be identified initially as interests of consumption in the case of the marginalized po­ pulation, and interests of production in the case of the private sector. Thus, the foniiation of the luiman settlement is hypothesized to be the re­ sult of: a) - the actions of the private sector, which responds fundamentally to necessities of capital accumu]ation, and which attends the demand for space ajid BYSA througli market meclrmisms; b) the actions of the marginalized population, which responds fundamental: ly to immediate consujnption necessities (witliin which food and slielter are of prime importance) and which attends the necessity for space and BYSA through non-market mechanisms; and c) the actions of the public sector, which regulates the urban processes. The actions of the public sector are less easy to characterize, given the complex nature of the functions involved in assuring the reproduction of the social system. On the most general level, however, the state can be seen as ;diretted toward the integration .and control of the social system and the I incorporation of the various social groups. More specifically, the repro­ duction of the productive system i i a capitalist society involves the ne­ i cessity of assuring: a) the reproduction of the labour force and b) the accumulation of capital. • ly.fKf- - 10 - ■ Given that metropolitan areas in Latin America contain a marginalized popu­ lation which is increasingly large, and which lives in conditions of eco­ logical marginality, or an inadequate standard of consumption with regard to ifiimediate necessities sucli as food and slielter, it is hypothesized that, in this case, tlic interests of capital accumulation are opposed to the ]3rovision of sucli necessities for this group. The action of the state, therefore, results from a need to serve ends v/nich are in conflict and at times mutually exclusive. In tliis point of view, the concrete actions of the state as autliority over urban processes will reflect the pressures which can be brought to bear, in any specific instance, by the two interest groups. «*; . ■ v.^.-f;- ■ ■ ■ , ■ : ;* ■ i ■• -■» . , . : ECOLOGICAL MARGINALriY: THE CITT AND THE INf^EDIATC NECESSITIES ■ To understand the present-day metropolis as a context for the productioir ajid consumption of immediate necessities, it is illuminating to situcte the question in broad ecological perspective. The human agglomerations of the distant past were situated in grand measure in function of a natural ecology -that is, a combination of fac­ tors in the local enviroinnent which offered the basic and necessary condi- * tions for luunan life- access to sources of water, characteristics of the soil and climate which allowed the production of foodstuffs, natural re­ sources whicli served as fuel and for the production of dwellings, etc. The growtli of a luunan settlement in these conditions reflected an increase in its capacity to sustain a larger population, otherwise the ecological conditions would lead to a limitation of the size of the popu­ lation through the death of some members, or through their spatial dis­ placement towards ¿mother ecological area culpable of sustaining human life. Although the development of some degree of technology is characteris­ tic of all liuman societies, which makes tlic idea of a natural ecology somewhat artificial, the utility of such an ideal type is found in the fact that it reveals, with extreme clarity, the distance which todays large urban agglomerations have moved from the natural local conditions which sustain hiuuan life. ■ Perhaps the most extreme expression of the rupture of the natural t ecology of the human settlement is found in the fact that large segments of the worlds population depend on foodstuffs produced in other continents. From tJiis perspective, modern technology has peraitted the spatial expansion i*; • ^i?i-ll 12 - of the ecolof^ical unit which maintains human life to tlie point of liberat­ ing the process of human settlement, to a large degree, from the natural qualities of the local environment. • Tlie increased independence of the luiman settlement with regard to the « local environment, however, lias as its counterpart an increased dependency on artificial systems of production and distribution -that is, technology and tlie socioeconomic structures which organize production and distribution. ,r The dependence of the large cityicgard to a monetary market of food­ stuffs serves as illustration and starting point for understanding the eco­ logical significance of tliis fomation, but it is eciually true tliat the other elements wliich provide the material basis for human life are also trin-isfonned from elements provided by the local environment, to elements which must bo produced by larger socioeconomic units -including the pro­ vision of drinking water, construction materials, energy sources, and drainage, among others. Uliile the capacity of technology has developed to such an extent that the question of dependence rarely arises, recent exam­ ples of energy failures and scarcity of petroleum and otlier fuels in the cities of highly-developed societies such as the United States, serve as drrunatic examples of tlus phenomenon. The immediate necessities of human life remain constant -air, water, food, fuel, and shelter- but the over­ whelming majority of human settlements, particularly metropolitan areas, no longer have the capacity of self-provision, and depend on circuits of production and distribution which cover enormous distances and involve an cxt^-errrely complex division of labour. The increased independence of the luiman settlement in relation to the local environment accompanies, by definition, a differentiation and spe­ cialization of liuman activities, and a transfomation of the profile of production. In conditions of a natural ecology, the productive f r e ocs- were directed almost exclusively toward the provision of immediate neces­ sities of hujnan life. The production profile of the first stages of in- dirrtrial production also reflect, in large measure, the siune necessities. ,To the degree that the capitalist mode of production lias developed, however, pther products tend to dominate, and the city reflects this transformation. Seen in global terms, the transfomation of social production from the production of immediate necessities to the production of relatively more superfluous goods can be considered a demonstration of social progress. Thus, a relative decrease in the labour force occupied in the primary sec­ tor is a commonly-used measure of the capacity of a social system to ad­ vance, freeing itself of the iircoccunation of sustaining the merely phy­ sical existence of the population. Such an inteiasretation, however, is valid only to the degree that the immediate necessities of the population are in fact scia/ed. The marked discrepancy which currently exists between the development of the productive system and the satisfaction of the imme­ diate necessities of the population in Latin America is at the heart of tiie problem of ecological marginality. Among the complex range of processes involved in the urbanization phe­ nomenon, the following are of particular importance: a) The organization of urban production: the separation of production and consumption ; The expansion of the urban [iroductive system takes place through the establishiient of specialized productive entities. At the same time, the tlie development of the productive forces is an expression of the decreasing autonomy of the domestic unit as a productive unit. Wliile the specialized ,t I p 3»w* 4* ■i/r ■14* system o£ production expands, the domestic unit is transformed into a con­ sumption unit, establishing a functional separation between work and family life, or between production and consumption. ^ It should be noted tliat this general tendency in the organization of ■sociotaJ ¡production is more advanced in those sectors of tlic population which arc inserted in a stable manner in the most deve]o[ped areas of the productive structure. The decrease in artcsanal production, however, expresses clearly the familys diminished possibility of successful competition in goodsproduction, as industrial production gains control of material inputs and markets formerly organized and servod by domestic production, llie decreas­ ing possibility of domestic production for own use, on the other hand, is limited fundamentally by the lack of access to land, which is necessary for-the production of foodstuffs. Family service activities (cleaning, food preparation, the care of ciuldren) continue to be necessary for tlie reproduction tmd maintenance of the population, but do not offer the possibility of increasing the familys level of consLun])tion. Tlius, the domestic unit becomes increasingly depend­ ent on monetary markets for tlie provision of immediate necessities, and on extra-f;imiliar activities to obtain the necessary money income. b) The ¡production and reproduction of the urban labour force The development of the productive forces and the new profile of urban production generate new necessities in tlie fonnation of the labour force. Occupations in the specialized productive units and related services (so­ cial, commercial, and industrial) demand increasing levels of training a;;J educational credentials. A1tliough the productive functionality of increased certification is an open question (sec eg. Braverman, 1974) the necessity of - 15 - such certification in access to occupations is not. From the point of view of the population seeking work, then, educational credentials be­ come a necessary but not sufficient condition for entering productive roles in the urban occupational structure. Beyond the demand for education and training, urban concentration necessarily increases the social cost of tlie labour force, creating a new need for investments in transportation, infrastructure, and collect­ ive services such as health services. c) Land as an urban product In the degree to whicli the system of production is based on urban act-ivitics, land is transfonned from a productive resource whose use is determined by natural characteristics, to a resource in which the second­ ary qualities take on predominant importance -that is, the provision of services and infrastincture which permit the urban production and consump­ tion activities. The natural cliaracteristics of the land diminish in im­ portance as a function of the growing need for land for urban uses, and of t!ie development of tcclinology which permits its transformation, or urbanization. In this sense, land also reflects the artificial nature of the urban environment, taking on the characteristics of a good which is produced only through considerable investment. V/ith growth, the possibility of ur­ banization of the land passes out of local control, at the same time as the nec-cssity of urbanization increases. At the same time, the sccondaiy characteristics, which establish the possible use of the land, reflect the separation between production and consumption, differentiating betiJcoi residential and productive sites. This effect has been exaggerated by the nature of industrial production in circumstances in whicli profit considerations prevai]. That is, the urban areas which include large productive entities have tended to represent sources’ -of air and water contamination, noise, and congestion, which makes surrounding, areas unsuitable for rcsidcntial i)ur)oscs. ihe irroblcms of land for liousing and spatial location of the population In a large city, tlio effects of tlic separation between site of produc­ tion and site of consronption has radical consequences, not only in quanti­ tative teniis. In areas of agricultural production, land for housing virtually does not exist as a problem, since any productive activity (subsistence agricul­ ture,- salaried agricultural work, tenant fanning, etc.) always provides space sufficient to construct a house, as docs the rural scale of land use. The problem of land for housing appears only with tiic separation between production and consimiption in the urban system, which becomes more acute in the degree to wliich tlic developing productive forces concentrate the population, and in tiic degree to which the urban areas expand. With sucli development, land for liousing is transformed from an element provided by the productive role, and situated in function of the same, to an element which is increasingly independent of the individuals productive activity, taking on the characteristic of a merchandise whose production depends on a specific monetar) market, situated in function of the available residejifial space. In tliis manner, a second problem arises: the problem of the rational location of the population within the settlement is also a conscciucncc of the separation between production and consumption, which - 17 - becomes more acute in the degree to which the developing productive forces concentrate the population, and in the degree to which the urban areas expand. Tile process oT urbanizalion, in sum, accompanies tlie development of specialized productive entities wliicli tend to provoke and benefit from the agglomeration of po[)ulation. The family, in the same degree, loses its productive capacity and is triinsfonned into a unit which organizes the con­ sumption of the population, increasingly dependent on monetary income which must be attained through outside occupational pursuits, which in turn require an increasing degree of qualification. The social costs of such a transformation are evident in the increased requirements for tlie production and maintenance of the labour force, includ­ ing training, transportation, social seiaAices, etc. which are dependent for their fulfillment on tlie application of public resources. Wien the productive resources arc privatcly-owicd, this development involves an initial contradiction, since the benefits of agglomeration accrue in large measure to the productive enteriirises, vdiile the costs are distributed among all social groups. Congestion, noise, and environmental pollution can also be considered as social costs of this transformation. These features of urbanization are situated on a level of generality which does not distinguish the Latin American metropolis from other urban areas, although they establish the general parameters vsfithin which these particular agglomerations must be considered, llie specific features of the Latin,i\jncrican metropolis, in particular tlie appearance of vast ecologically marginal areas, is evidence tliat in these societies the costs and benefits of urbanization are distributed in acutely uncc[ual fashion. In correspon­ dence witli tlie model proposed, these effects can be approached through a .fl»- • i ■ .m } , • 18 - consideration of the accumulation strategies involved in the course of development of these productive structures. ^*‘V t % ^r■n. - 19 - r_v f V 4 ,W;.. ■ r ■ f ■ *vr,--^.;,f;K ■ ^‘ ACaJMULATION STRATEGIES: I DEVELOMIIir OP i PRODUCTIVE STRUCTURE DE nE The effects of accuniulation strategies on the formation of human set­ tlements can be considered from two ])crsi)cctives: the imiimer in which ge- ncral conditions of capital acciunulation affect the economic processes wliich relate directly to tlie production of housing and the formation of urban land markets; and tlie constitution of the labour force which esta­ blishes the consuming possibilities of the population, and creates the market demand for housing. Clearly, these are two aspects of the same nrocess of development of the productive structure. On tlu: most general level, the distinguishing feature of the develop­ ment of Latin Ariierican economics stems from their dependency in relation to.the more advanced structures of international capitalism. Theories of dependence liave thus been directed, in large measure, to an understanding of the process of extension of monopolistic structures in nations in which the major part of the existing economic structure is in previous stages of cairi tali S t development. Althougli the situation of the dependent countries could be referred to in dcscrijjtive tenns as ’’ dual, analytically tlie concept of dependency refers to a mode of interconnection -between internal and external stnictures, when tlie monopolistic elements are conceived of as originating outside the receptor economy (Cardoso, 1972:174). In the same manner, when the monopolistic elements are considered in their internal dimension, the noir-moiiopolistic sectors have been cliaractcrized as marginal in respect to them. In this case, marginality can be conceived of as a particular mode of belonging to or participating in tlie national socioeconomic structures, fundmacntalJV coiulitioncd bv forces which derive froiu the dondnaiit nucleus. .r -20- Or, as noted by Cardoso, ... marj^inality always supposes dependence on otlicr dominiuit stnicturcs (Cardoso, 1972:1 74). F i conccntua! scheme pronosed by flui jano provides a useful frame of lc reference for considering the transfonnation of the productive stiaacture in relation to the growing ¡)enetrai;ion of monopolic structures. In this view, and with reference to the dominant nucleus, some elements of the productive system are designated as marginal because their productivity is of marginal interest relative to tlie accumulation interests of tlie nucleus. Clearly, this does not imply that tlie marginal elements are not functionally integra­ ted in tlie whole, Imit rather that tlieir functionaI ity for the nucleus is relatively reduced and indirect, and includes many niediation.s. ;■ The conditioning of development ivhich occurs with the concentration of canital in dynamic/monopol1stic enternrises will by definition make dif­ ficult tlic accumulation of ca.pital in other sectors, llic concentration of income which follows also interferes in the expansion of national consumer markets. The difficulties imposed on canital accuiiulation will thus be re­ flected in increased competition ¡uiiong productive entities. To the extent tliat tlie monoiiol iStic stnicturcs arc international, the development process will be further conditioned by the internationalization of profits. Uliile the concc]itualication of marginality begins with tlie duality dominant nucleus/marginal pole, it goes on to emphasize tlie heterogeneity of the internal stnicturcs: This integration coi.ibincs modalities and levels of production which range from the most primitive to the most recent forms of capitalist development. (Quijano, 1970:36) - 21 - ■ í:,í ^rj a T ■ uíi,-iíí m ’]‘-ííw w . f A iIfcü • H , . A process o£ unequal and combined development rearticulates the various - structural components, or the various stages of development, ... the course of erradication of the oldest being very slow and difficult. (Ouijano, 1 1970:29). -« With respect to the specific processes pointed out by Quijano, two are of a general nature: the urbanization of the economy, and increasingly in- X equal income distribution. dencies occur: IVithin the urban structure, other specific ten­ a relative deterioration of traditional industries in produc­ tivity and attraction of investment; deterioration of artesiinal and non­ industrial manufacturing entities within the traditional sector; increase in artesanal and non-industrial activities in new areas, connected principal­ ly jvitli mechaiiical and automobile repairs; reduction of the capacity of absonption of labour in industry; and the monopolization of commerce and ser­ vices (Qiiijano, 1976:244-50). Thus, economic development in conditions of dependency leads to the de­ velopment of some parts of the productive structure at the s£ime time as it provokes a relative regression in other areas, with respect to the accu­ mulation of ca])ital. Relative regression is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the elimination of productive entities -tlie mechanism o£ elimination is com­ petition between entities which are active in the same market. V/ithin the areas of competition, differences in tlie organizational form of production permit the survival of the more efficient entities while provoking the eliminhtion of others, sudi as artesanal production and smaller, less efficient enterprises. The elimination of entities will occur at different moments, when the organization of production no longer permits fulfillment of its V, f IV •7i i K - A i 5 basic function -in capitalist entities, the accumulation of capital; in pre­ capitalist entities, p.iaintenance of the organizing family. Accumulation strategies and economic marginality: the formation of the hat)our force In the conceptualization fonnulated Iv/ Ouijano, an economically marginal population is generated by two priiici.i^al mechanisms, both the result of the technological characteristics of the dynamic nucleus (highly capital inten­ sive) : 1) the radical depression of occupations and productive roles which are maaginal with respect to the interests of the nucleus; and 2) the diminished absorption of labour in occupations of tlie nucleus. The marginalization of the labour force is, at one and the same time, a problem of exclusion frora certain occupational roles and of absorption in others. IVitliin tlie areas of competition, labour costs are relatively weiglitier in’ the lesser-developed entities, which are most vulnerable in competition, and more likely to be in process of deterioration. V,hcn capital accumulation 7 is conditioned, and the ex :iansion of the market limited, control of labour costs is likely to become a crucial issue in the continued survival of these entemarises. Ifnen the law establishes a minimum salary, wages will tend to be pres­ sured toward this level. Furtlienrore, it is to be exi:)ected that capitalist entererises will searcli for ways to minimize labour cost through the rotation of temporary labour which permits salaries to be maintained at the lowest level, and eliminates the cost of benefits enjoyed by p e m a n e n t workers. Rxamples of such strategies are reported by Berlinck, wiio concludes: i W i 4 I AM ■ • ‘‘ -V • , ,vV -■ ‘ ... it was possible to demonstrate that occupa- ‘ tional instability... permits the attainment of a marginal profit in the industrial sector and the survival of certain traditional and/or competitive I industries whicli otlionvise would not be in a position to operate in the market. (Bcrlinck, 1975:149) l-rom the point of view of the labour force, this situation prevents access to class benefits as defined in labour legislation, since it prevents stable employment bonds. In pre-capitalists enterprises, on tlie other haiid, legal control over labour relations tends to be inherently more difficult. Many of the smal­ lest entities are not legally registered, or are not included in labour legislation. To tlie degree that these firms use family labour, or have paternalistic characteristics, there will be a tendency to retain the labour force, but in this case workers will be under pressure to accept salaries below the minimum level, and illegitimate work situations. Examples of such phenomena are described by Lomnitz: Tliese were vciy small enterprises -in low-income neighbourhoods- and the salaries he paid were much inferior to those which he would have had to pay it it werent a question of (employment of) family members. Neither did lie liavc to be concenicd with problems such as payment for overtime, taxes, and contributions, or insurance. ^ (Loimiitz, 1978:139 see also Eckstein, 1977:144). In some cases, production groups wliich are organized along interper­ sonal and family lines are directly utilized in the production of larger firms, as is common in the Mexican system of maquila* 0iteml:ti3ig=??a;t‘ W . 4 (/ ,1 7 \ , A y4 commonly found in the construction industry and in many other areas v^^ich i _ j. -- _1*^1-^ K’ ^ 1 Lomnitz notes that **Such groups made up o£ relatives and ^5 ■ f , J v . ■ j j - .■ ,? i ■ lii*) ’f ‘ use unskilled or semi-skilled labour. (Lomnitz, 1978:136). In both competitive capitalist and precapitalist entities, the cons­ traints on accLunulation can be expected to lead to a deterioration in work relations, expressed in pressure to less-than-subsistence income (through unstable work relations in capitalist enterprises and stable but illegiti­ mate work relations in precapitalist enteT])rises) and employment bonds which do not in either case provide the minimum protection as defined in establislied labour laws. In the relative regression which occurs within the marginal structure, individual activities (commerce and services, principally) represent the most-acute case in terns of the difficulty of capital accumulation. These activities are best considered as non-capitalist, since they p e m i t neither the accumulation of capital nor the development of productive organization. Normally, they represent a simple offer of labour power in search of income. Relative regression, in the case of individual activities, does not result in their elimination -the expansion of petty street vendors is the most obvious example of this fact. M-iilc competition a:aong precapitalist and capitalist entities tends to eliminate the least efficient when the or­ ganization of production no longer permits the fulfillment of basic functions, the individual activities lack of organization has as its counterpart the absence of a minimiun ceiling for the maintenance of the activity -the basic function is simply the provision of some income to tlie individual. In the case of individual activities, the relation between relative regression and elimination is inverted - earnings can continue to diminish without V •■ ^^.■ ;m i.. ’ A • V . 1v ’ ■ ■ . I ■ , ■ • 1} ^ ,j‘ •:■ i’A V I :* • i- * r - l I ■ causing the activity to be eliminated, and individual activities tend to increase in the absence of other work opportunities. The transformation of the productive structure in conditions of depen­ dency has created a population marginal to productive roles, and subject to levels of poverty which are extreme. Since the basic dynamic stems from the concentration of productive resources in capital-intensive, often internationally-controlled enterprises, these effects will continue and intensify to the extent that such concentration continues. From the point of view of the institutional integration of Latin American society, this population is not only economically but also institutionally marginal, in that they have no access to the minimum riglits as defined in labour le­ gislation or civil codes - a legitimate employment bond and a minijnum sa­ lary; An increase in the institutionally marginal population, in the most global teims, signifies a regression of the society as an organizing structure - or an increasingly acute separation between state and nation. The increased marginal ity of sejtments of the labour force has thus conditioned their status as consumers of immediate necessities such as housing in both economic and institutional terms -they are increasingly dei-iendent on income which is not adequate for participation in the unre­ gulated urban housing market, and they are excluded from subsidized housing and public loan sclicmes v^fhich depend, at the minimum, on a legitimate em­ ployment bond. The increasingly heterogeneous class structure reported in precarious settlements c;m be seen as a consequence of this unequal and combined development, which lias tended to create significant differen­ tials in the consuming possibilities within occupational groups, depending on their relation to tlie d)Tiamic structure. .... ., . i .. -v . i . virA*,«;. f * The effects of such marginalization, on the other hand, are not con-’ ; fined to the marginalized group itself. Tendencies in income distribution, which reveal the decreased purchasing power of majority sectors of the popul-ation, demonstrate that in these circvmistances many sources of stable employment, whidi generate the legally-defined miniimim salary, do not per­ mit an adequate standard of living. Clearly, the pressure of such a vast labour reserve has allowed a deterioration of the consuning possibilities of those whose occupational stability and income are permanently conditioned by the fact that they could at any time be replaced. b) Accujaulation Strategies and the production of housing Tlie conditions of capital accumulation in dependent economies, which leads to increased competition, the deterioration and eventual elijrunation of less-developed labour-intensive f o m s of production, and the increasing productive marginality of large segments of the population, has another effect v/hich directly conditions the production of housing in Latin America: altSniative investment and speculation in urban land. ... chronic inflation ;md control of major industrial development by large, usually foreign-owned corporations liave led a large portion of domestic capital to be invested in the urlDan land market. Land investment is the most secure defense against a deteriorating currency, and the pattern of rapid urban growth has resulted in sharp increases in the real value of land. * • Land speculation ** — thus offers the possibility of augmenting wealth without excessive risks and witliout the complexities of industrial investment. (Walton, 1976:28; see also United Nations, • V ^i PfiJ , - 27 - ^ ••A 1978:61; Evers, 1976:71; Landes, 1975; Walton 1978:38; Vetter 8 Brasilei.ro, 1978:267; Sazavami, 1976:712) - The efficiency of land speculation in the accumulation of capital is deducible from reported increases in land values in urban areas, especially metropolitan areas. While inter- and intra-city differences may be consi­ derable, and while adequate comparative data are not available, increases of up to 300o within a one-year j:)eriod and of 1001, in a six-month period have been reported (Brasilcira, 1978:267), and one study of the increasing value of a piece of rural land which was incoi*porated into the metropolitan market reports a price increase of 47, 900‘ over a 30-year period (Lander, i , 1975:104). .While the historical patterns of land ov.nership undoubtedly established the initial conditions for tlie concentration of land in the hands of a few, tlic Increasingly and spectacularly lucrative nature of land speculation in present-day metropolitan areas has furthered this tendency, establishing conditions for tlie monopolistic control of urban land. In such a situation, ... land transiictions tend to become largely institutional, tliat is between speculators, rather thaji terminal, that is between the speculator and ultimate resident. (Evers, 1976:71). The increasing number of private agents involved in urban land trans­ actions (proprietors, developers, commercial agents, financiers, etc.), each of whom derives their share of profit from the constitution of the land ¿(larket, is evidence of the financial attractiveness of such ventures A and at the same time represents one of the mechanisms which leads to the creation of high prices to the eventual consumer. While the provision of infrastincture involves a productive investment which necessarily increases ■V i»!)^} /l ; ‘ the value and the price of urban land, the United Nations investigation Tierra para asentamientos humanos reports that .. the prices of land in areas of new urbanization demonstrate that the new urban value is three to four times higher than the cost of infrastructure in the case of land for residential areas... (United Nations, 1978:83). The effect of such artificially high land prices on the cost of hous­ ing is clear, since land prices have been reported as frequently exceeding S0‘ of the total price of housing in developing countries (United Nations, 1978:iv). Thus, Private ownership of land by a small stratum of the population means in reality that it is impossible for the majority to enjoy rights to the use of land, including housing... (United Nations, 1978:32) The fact that access to land is necessary for the production and consujnption of housing sets specific conditions for the development of the construction industry. The profits included in land prices increase pro­ duction costs in this area, and act as an obstacle in the accumulation pro­ cess . The monopolistic control of basic building materials such as cement and steel has a similar effect, llic control of prices, which guarantees liigh profit margins to these producers, increases the production costs of the construction industry which depends on such inputs. The,..relatively high cost of the housing product as a consumer good thus creates a need for finance capital in both production and consumption of the product. The net result is a marked vulnerability of the construc­ tion industry with regard to general economic conditions. Ii * ^1« t - t A * Given the relatively extended cycle of production of this good, an economically viable project can be transformed, in the course of its execution, into a much less profitable venture. Variations in general economic conditions, which affect both production costs and the size of tlie demand, are reflected in frequent and considerable fluctuations in the ..rhythm of production, particularly housing constri.Jction. Thus, those circumstances which increase production costs and prices to the consumer will tend to increase the industrys dependence on outside capital, at the SiUTie time as the effects of such dependency decrease the industrys attrac­ tiveness as an investment alternative. In a.Ji industry sul:ject to considerable fluctuations, on the other hand, the costs of diminislied production will be proportional to the invest­ ment in capital goods wliicli are underutilized during recessive periods. Development through investment in tedm o l o g y will thus be less likely to occur, even when sufficient capital is available. More labour-intensive fimns in tlie area of construction hiivc the option of responding to dimi­ nished production through contraction of the v^iork force. The widely-noted instability of construction employment is confirmed in one analysis which shows that 23.61 of construction workers had been employed for less than ■ three months aud 64.91 for less than one year (Berlinck, 1975:115). Ano­ ther study reports tliat contracts in the construction industry are often confined to 80-day periods, which allows the avoidance of labour obliga­ tions (Pradilla, 1977:11n3). V/liile this represents a degree of flexibility not l^resenX in more developed entities, and vAnich reinforces the labour-intensive * ^ » ~ characteristic of the sector, these same enterprises are more likely to be liquidated ;in the event of more extreme clianges in the conditions of produc­ tion. In this respect, the constinction industry is a concrete example of the general trends discussed above: accumulation in a conqjetitive area of production is directly conditioned by monopolistic structures which control access to and prices of necessary inputs (not only land but basic construction materials). The less-developed, labour intensive sphere, disadvantaged in the accumulation process, is therefore unable to increase productivity througli tedniical development, wliich reinforces its dependent status and maintains its less efficient form of organization, thus complet­ ing the cycle of relative regression. At the same time, the tendency toward monopolistic control of urban land and building products creates the conditions for association of this capital with large construction enterprises, since in this case more ef­ fective control is exercised over the whole productive process. Tlie net result is increasing differentiation within the construction industry. Tlie apparent contradiction between the lucrative nature of the construction industry and its general low level of development can be understood in this context. Only those sectors which are associated with finance capital or monopoly control over land or building materials are in a position to guarantee high rates of capital accumulation, and adopt more advanced pioductive teclmiques. The majority of construction firms, which do not achieve such control, will continue to rely on labour-intensive production techniques, adapting to fluctuations in general economic conditions through expansion and contraction of the labour force. The^ development of more efficient production in larger enterprises lias* not, however, resulted in a reduction in the costs of housing: the larger enterprises, effectively protected from competition, can benefit from monopoly control, while the smaller enterprises are unable to reduce production costs. IVliile tlie high cost of housing construction could con- h iW -^\:“‘ Ai-;..-.-- h ■■ »V ‘ ■ «f ■ ■ ■ .*. .■ •■•’ ■ t3 ] .l- •»¥ -, ■,■,■■. ■ ■:;■ I ■ ,■■ iyt ceivably be reduced somewhat through standardization, more efficient or­ ganization, etc., in the context of accumulation described above, the prospects of significant change are not grciit: T l/]iiic it is true tliat reductions could and should be achieved - above all through the rationalization of design and production - it is obvious that the characteristics and tendencies of (housing) costs will continue if the corresponding structural niodificatiojis are not introduced. (Uria, 1975:438) • SURVIVAL STRATEGIES IN PRECARIOUS SETlLiMZNTS: ? :• ADAPTATION TO POVERTY llie illegitimate occupation of unurbimized land and settlement in , center-city slum areas can be seen as strategies which are utilized by those families whose productive role does not permit access to adequate liousing, ajid who are therefore obliged to occupy urban spaces which are deficient in essential services and inadequate in quantitative terms, creating the most visible dimensions of ecological marginity. Modalities of spatial location, described in the next section, can thus be charact­ erized as a survival strategy, or an adaptive response to poverty in urbaii areas. The entry into individual occupations is another example. Studies of precarious settlements have revealed other adaptative mechan­ isms which have evolved in these areas, whidi allow their functioning aid survival, and which shed light on tlicir demographic aspects. It should be recalled that the urban context in which these mechanisms develop is one in which the productive possibilities of the faiiily unit are severely limited by lack of access to productive re­ sources such as land and other material goods. In rural subsistance areas, natural factors impose the basic conditions for suivival, aid tlie seasonal rhytlim of food production, although not necessarily suf­ ficient to provide adequate nutrition, locates the question of daily bread within a larger cycle of planting, harvesting, and consumption. Perhaps.-the best description of the daily struggle in urbai areas is found in the dairy of Maria Carolina de Jesus, who survived in a favela of Sao Paulo by collecting and selling scrap paper and metal. When V,--i v i, tlie days luck was bad, tlie family didn’t eat, unless some neiglibour of­ fered to help. In urban areas, tlie (question of bread must be resolved daily, in many cases -survival is, in this respect, a much more immediate pilenomenon. ,a) Networks of interchange aiid mutual assistance The interchange netvsorks which are described by Lomnitz (1975), for example, are in large measure directed toward guaranteeing minimum access to tlic imiiiediate nccccsitlcs of a population winch lives in con­ ditions of m s t a b l e poverty. The impossibility of producing or accumulat­ ing a surplus of food in itself retiuires ;m emergency mechanism vinidi can be activated rapidly and without monetary cost. reported are: Other activities services such as care of the sick, carrying messages, care of minor children, or carrying water; loans of food or small quantities of money (to buy shoes, newspapers, or pay for the baptism rites of aji infant about to die), cooking utensils and fuel, and cloth­ ing; assistance in the construction of housing or in finding work (of the institutionally marginal type, where generally they eain sal­ aries below the minimum and lack permanence and security, Lomnitz, 1975:74). Another feature pointed out in investigations of these areas is their function as reception centers for migrants. In this case, assis­ tance includes tne sharing of dwelling space, and may include the prov­ isionof all necessary material support for arriving migrants, as well as fulfilling social and psychological functions in adaptation to urbaji life. b) Family structure: extension and fluidity llie inteichange networks described above tend to be structured, in lar^e measure, according to family bonds which group the population in teilns of consumption cUid pemnit their survival. The extension of the family structure in low-income strata appears more visibly when they share the same domicile, as is frequently the case, but the distinguish­ ing characteristic of this family structure is found in the fact that it represents an extremely complex netivork of shared consumption of immediate necessities. The interconnected individuals may live in the same dwelling, in separate dwellings on the same piece of land, or in separate but nearby locations, in all cases the existence of inter­ change networks demonstrates tliat they make up one consuming unit. To the extent that liousing, clothing, domicstic utensils, etc. are shared, this extended structure pennits small economies of scale which reduce the cost of daily subsistance for the members, as well as functioning as emergency mechanisms. In a structure in whicli reciprocity is critical, the need for con­ fidence contributes to the extension of the family through godparent­ hood. As noted by Lomnitz: The Vviorth of a compadre is not measured by his ceremonial contribution, but rather by the in­ tensity and trustworthiness of the reciprocal interchange relationship which develops later. i (Lomnitz, 1975:187) The fluidity of the low-income household structure across tin\e has been designated fajnily breakdovvTi in some earlier works. Such t ‘ ^ V , . ^.■ ■.^ . ■, ’ i. f ■ f --V ■ a characterization results from the interjoretation of this phenomenon in socioemotional terms, an optic which is not realistic in this si­ tuation, where the formation and disintegration of family units reflects 1 more clearly the necessity of an adaptive strategy directed towards ,the maximization of the limited material possibilities of tlie group. Such changes ensure financial balance for the group even if making it unstable form the point of view of membership O^oortman, no date:21). A conjugal family, made up of parents and children, requires at the miiiimum a material basis adequate for the formation and maintenance of an independent consuming uiiit, a condition which does not prevail in precarious urban areas. c). Patterns of Reproduction The reproductive patterns of these families also reflect their con­ textual conditions, which has resulted in the maintenance of a high birth rate in low-income urban groups. depends on both The control of reproduction a) the possibility of control (knowledge of and access to means of control) aiid b) the desireability of control, or a context in whidi such control is perceived as being of benefit to the family. Ill many cases, poverty, and the resultant stratification of consumption (including education) impedes access to the knowledge and materials nec­ essary for birtli control. The possibility of control is thus clearly limited in tliese groups. ■ The.-desireability of control, on the other liand, is reduced in a situation in which a flexible and extended consuming structure is nec­ essary for tlic survival of the group, and where family ties are the best guarantee of consolidation of reciprocity. The extension of the •36- survival network through godparent relations also depends on the presence of diildren, more diildren allowing more such bonds to be formed. Where tJie family is virtually the only source of social security, large t fiuiiilies are necessary and desireablc in these terms. In i1k iufonnal economy, children aJ.so rc[)rescnt a valuable source of labour which is utilized in fiuiuly service tasks and in the search for outside income: Tlie children work where and when they can: shining slioes, carryinj?, water for their mothers or in exchange for a few centavos, selling chiclets in the street, helping to look after animals, going from house to house asking for bread and tortillas to feed the pigs or domestic birds which arc raised in man) marginalized home s . (Lormi i t z , 19 75:73) Wliile the entry of middle-class women into urban productive activ­ ities has represented a force toward the reduction of offspring, the informal character of womens activities in low-income sectors does not create the same incompatibility of productive and reproductive roles. Womens productivity in infoimal activities may rather be en­ hanced through a mother-child division of labour in clothing production, preparation and sale of food products, laimdry and ironing, etc. (Garcia and de Oliveira, no date:16). The perception of the advantage of numerous children in these groups is clearly related to the functional benefits of offspring, expressed in the saying children are the wealtli of the poor (MachadoNeto, 1977:20). Thus, the context of urbaji poverty has created neither the justification nor the means for transforming traditional reproductive patterris. d) ITvnily Roles The extension of the fajiiily ujiit allows tlie maximization of the work capacity of all member, ns it p e m i t s an internal division of la­ bour whlcli includes those individuals who are excluded form employment possibilities, usually because of their age. The acute need for income thus tends to lead all ftimily members to seek some fonn of income, or to provide the necessary support service for occupational activity. Both the oldest members :ind very yomig children are involved in caring for the yomigest cliildren, for example. The result are family roles which have little in common with cultural stereotypes derived largely from middle-class patterns of behavior. In a situation in which all members are necessary for the mainten­ ance of the fmnily, the concept of family head has a relatively reduced weight. Tlie limitations imposed by poverty on the role of breadwinner, on the spatial location of the family, on decisions regarding fajnily spending, and on tlie socialization of children reflect a role of family head which does not include many elements which are implicit in tJie concept. In some precarious areas, a liigh percentage of female heads has beon feported (Kinzer, 1973:303; Mangin, 1974:346; Roberts, 1970:488), The early cnti-y of children in the search for monetary income is a major dianicteristic of the role of children in these areas. Empiri- cal data on this phenomenon are unfortunately not generally available, but a report from one precarious areanotes that 27% of fiaiiily heads 1 begari, to work before they were 10 years old (Lomnitz, 1975:98). Al- thiaugh tlie necessity of cliild labour is also cliaractcristic of inral areas, the urban context represents fundajnentally different conditions for this plienomenon. The assigrmient of tasks to children in rural areas initiates the process of learning necessary to prepare them for entry into rural productive processes through activities coordinated by and carried out in the family realm. In the urban context, the need for children to seek monetary income tends to increase their presence in individual activities such as petty commerce or services, which provide mucli-less than subsistence income, offer no training which could serve to increase their productive potential, and tend in fact to isolate them from the educational possibilités to which they hypothetically have access, and whicli are increasingly necessary in achieving a minimum level of consumption. In sum, the tendencies inherent in the current situation of urban poverty tend to produce an increasingly disqualified labour force. A consideration of the role of women in precarious urban settlements suffers from a diaracteristic common to all investigations which attempt to determine the effect of the sex variable in social life -that is, a peculiar degree of cultural invisibility of female activities outside the realmC)f domestic service tasks. Thus, the fact that rural-urban ■ i migration is female-dominated in many areas of Latin America is hidden by a functional stereoty]oe of the migrant who is young, largely un­ educated, and male. The distorting effect of sexual stereotypes on basic empirical data such as census reports is an increasingly acknowledge fact (se§. eg. Blay, 1973:184; Durand, 1975:11), which results from a wide­ spread tendency to underreport female economic activities, particularly in underdeveloped countries where informal” earnings are common, or where productive activities are carried out in the home and combined witli fainily service tasks, as is tlie nonn in rural areas, llie resulting conceptualization,whicli defines urban contexts as providing new opportuni­ ties for women, is predicated on a view of their traditional roles as strictly domestic, that is, as made up of unpaid domestic service tasks. This view overlooks, among other things, the fact that traditional industries often employed a large number of women; the later substitution of female industrial workers by males in circuustances of widespread un­ employment (Towner, 1977:100, Keremitsis, 1974); and the fact that artesanal production, largely destroyed by industrial production, was in at least some cases a predominantly female activity (Brandao-Lopes, 1975: 434). The view tliat womans traditional place was in the home also overlooks the fact that the family was once the organizing structure for all productive activities. If womans place is in someone elses home, and the home in question is part factory, part work­ shop, and part subsistence farm, the meaning of our maxim isnt what we thought it w a s .(January, 1971:20) p The assessment of womens role in precarious urban areas is thus made difficult by inadequate conceptualization of tlieir historical roles ■’ K V -40- I, wliicli provides the basis for comparison, and by the continued influence of s.tcreotypes which relegate female activities to a secondary status in current investigations. If tlte reproductive function of women has led to their historical responsibility for family service tasks, their productive role is more variable, and dependent on existing conditions of production. When productive activities arc no longer integrated with family life, female roles are in principal doubly conditioned: firstly, by their family responsibilities, and secondly by the productive opportunities to whidi they have access. Tlie relative importance of these factors, however, willvary with the economic situation of the family. In a situation in which the need for income is acute, as is the case in precarious settle­ ments, it is probable that women will tend to seek a source of income, the extended family structure in this case providing a structural support for fajuily service tasks ajid childcare. As noted by Perlman: Clearly such constraints as caring for families, arr-inging for child care, and spouse disapproval hinders the labor force participation of women, but since most family budgets in the favela need as niciny sources of income as possible, it is likely that more women would join the ranks of ^he pro­ ductively employed if the opportunities existed. (Perlman, 1976:157) In this case, the constraints of domestic responsibilities are seen - 41 - :J‘ to be less important th;m tlie effect of limited employment opportunities in defining womens roles. Clearly, tlie effect of family demands on tlie foie of women cannot be established in a situation in which women re­ main in domestic activities simply because no alteniative exists. In this case, what appears to be the effect of cultural elements as expressed in sexual stereotypes, traditional values, etc. in the definition of female family roles, may rather be aji effect of the urbiui occupational dcnxuid, in this case, a lack of opportunities for employment. If the indications are that the supply of female labour is not basical­ ly limited by sexual stereotypes in these groups, tlie same cannot be said of ,the demand for female labour. Tlaus, these cultural stereotypes are activated as discriminatory meclianisms in defining ernployinent opportunities whidi results in a dual labour market, or occupations that are distributed on tile basis of sex. In a situation of wides{)read urbaji unemployment, howeyer, this sane mechanism has served to reserve certain occupations for women, the outstanding exanple being, of course, paid domestic serv­ ice. Beyond this group, a large number of low-income women are occupied in individual services tmd commerce, which allows the resolution of pos­ sible conditioning by sex roles in both supply and demand terms -that is, in many cases tliey allov/ the womaji to combine child-care with incomeproducing activities; and they eliminate the possibility of employer discrimination. e) Economic Activities Since variation in the economic structure of precarious areas is Jr/* ■ I • - 42 - considerable, earning opportunities for all inliabitants, including women, wi11^presumably reflect the specific context of any concrete case. In the case of squatter settlements, Leeds has argued: They vary socio-cconomically from squatments with no internal comiiunercc whatever to those with im­ mense and growing commercial areas serving the surrounding area of the city; from those with no internal labour market to those with a very consider­ able one; from those with no internal primary or secondary productive activities to those with • - quite notable specialized urban agriculture... or industrial and artesanal plants. (Leeds, 1969:48) Ihis same author notes a considerable correlation between development of the interna] labour market and development of the settlement as a whole. In one analysis which compares settlements established at different points in time, tl\e low level of commercial development in incipient or most recent areas is noted: CoiiDncrcial development at this level reflects the needs of squatters as well as their low purchasing power, so that enterprises are limited to grocery stores, tortillerias, ipharmacy, a yard where build■ ^ t ing materials may be purchased, and a cafe that serves as a bar and informal social center. (Ward, 1976:336) Another study reports that ...commercial as well as production opportunities in the old city center sliim are better than in the two newer districts. (Eckstein, 1977:156) The fact that older areas represent a more developed internal labour market, liowever, does not warrant the conclusion that newer areas will eventually achieve the same economic development or diversification. The survival of small workshops and artesanal activity in older areas is in at least some cases dependent on proximity to an established net­ work of supply and demand, developed over decades. (Eckstein, 1977:143). Wliile the complex conditions which allow economic diversification and the development of a formal labour market in precarious areas cannot be identified here, the description of economic activities in many precarious areas, as well as census data on occupations, confirm the global importance of infomnal alternatives, especially in conuTierce aiid services. As in the case of formal activities, however, the scarce material resources of the precarious population limits the possibility of autonomous develop­ ment. In this regard, Loimiitz has pointed out the extent to which inform- ally-organized productive activities in one precarious area are dependent upon an intermediary who articulates these structures with the formal system, including examples of carjDet-layers, constniction workers, cloth­ ing manufacturers, and petty-commerce in articles such as chewing-gum, kleenex, lottery tickets, etc. The dependence of these producers on the ii^termediary is parallelled by the dependence of the intennediary on the formal system, vdiicli limits the possibility of social mobility for all: « P The intermediaries of the barriadas or of the - marginal sector in general, control the articula­ tions between their o ^ ^ social group and the \^ outside formal institutions, in a manner which tends to preseive the status quo in the maximum. (Lomnitz, 1978:150) The possibility of earnings is also conditioned to some degree by the spatial location of the precarious settlement. As noted earlier, peripheral location tends to have a negative effect on family income because it reduces the possibility of informal activities, principally of women iind children. In this respect, the effect may be due to the social segregation of the settlement, rather than a simple effect of distance: The inhabitants of small favelas located far from industrial zones and near upper-class districts not only produce incomes appreciably higher than the anterior group, but also show a greater in­ crease in the total family income. (Berlinck, 1975:128) Clearly, when the economic situation of the precarious population itself does not allow consumption beyond the immediate necessities, the income possibilities through informal activities which depend on this internal market are drastically reduced. To the extent that newer ‘*, 1 u- • iA* ¡‘rOiaVt * VV!. settlements tend to be socially and/or spatially segregated, informal earning opportunities will also be correspondingly less, since access 1 to the external market is diminished. Tlie survival strategics developed in precarious areas, wliich take the form of mutual assistance, large families, and informal economic activities, reveal that the most abundant resource in this population is that of labour time. Wiile representing a potential productive resource, tlie possible uses of this labour time are extremely limited by the lack of material resources whicli prevails in these areas. Thus, the mutual-aid mechanisms tend to maintain the population in their precarious situation, allowing their suin^ival udthout contributing to their betterment: Mutual aid in the barriada is restricted to immediate action and is not oriented toward the settlers basic interests sucli as increase in income-levels, opportunity for stable occu]iation and active part­ icipation in the urban nroductive structure. (Rivas, 1972:234) High birth-rates, and the utilization of the rapidly-expanding population in informal activities, on the other hand, demonstrate that, in this case, survival strategies which are useful from the perspective of the family uiii t tend to have negative effects on the group as a whole, as increased niniibers results in increased competition for scarce employ­ ment and markets, and permits decreasing returns to the individuals in competition. 46 - ■ SURVIVAL STIUTECIES IN P l ^ Q ^ I O U S ■ v- Aiff ■ ■ ■■^l . ■■ U ■ ■ S . r B F N S OCOrPATION FTLf.T: n r SPAPP AMn_ .cnKS .T P iinunN a) Occupation of Space Precarious settlements, identified by tlie deficient nature of dwellings and associated services and infrastructure, in contrast with adjacent areas, present internal differences with regard to the process of occupation of space. On this basis, two main groupings can be iden­ tified; i) inner-city slums (tugurios) -This modality represents the occuixillon of rented space whose ownership is legally established, and which is integrated in the existing service networks, usually ■ . in city ce;iter areas. In many cases, the use of these areas has changed over time, tending toward increased density as spaces originally utilized as one-f;auily dwellings arc progressively sub­ divided (Rodrigues, 1973:10-11). This represents, in turn, a deterioration in the serviccs/inhabitant ratio, which is accelarated to the extent tliat maintenance neglected. of even existing services is Although some iruier-city areas (the ciudades perdidas of Mexico, for example) may also include dwellings constructed in­ formally, access to space even in this case is achieved by renting it from the owier. -iy ■ 5 squatter settlements and illegal subdivisions -Fhe distinguish- ing feature of this modality stems from the fact that it represents an extension of the urban settlement through the occupation of space not previously incoi-porated in existing service networks. ■ i ^ In squatter settlements, the land is possessed illegally through invasion without payment to the ovmer, although if the invasion is organized there may be some pamient involved for participation rights. In illegal subdivisions, a price is paid for the land, usually over time, and the purchase agreement may Include the promise of future urbanization (the provision of essential services), although often these conditions are not kept. Rosenbluth, :443), not the legal owner. (Cornelius, 1976:258; In some cases, the seller of tlie land is In neither squatter settlements nor illegal subdivisions does the occupier gain legal property rights to the kind, which allows them to be considered together as illegitimate settlements. Tlie land which is occupied through illegitimate possession is distinguished in the first instance by a lack of infrastincture and services necessary for urban residence. In tuin, tliis lack of urbaniza­ tion tends to reflect either unfavorable locational qualities (steep hillsides, swampy areas, etc.) or public or unclear property rights; or both (see Connolly, forthcoming 19; Pradilla, 1978:30). Land with these diaracteristics may be located spatially either within the urbanized area or on the periphery of the metropolis. The existence of unurbanized land, however, depends on its peripherality in terms of the formal land market, a dimension which crosscuts its locational and property characteristics (Dwyer, 1975:31). Tluis, change over time in the constitution of the formal land market will also tend to condition the spatial location of illegitimate settle- -48• !-i ii ’ }« , t r i . ■ , ■-i , meats, indicating the reactive nature of tlie infonnal processes. I Rising land prices and the advancc of technology tlius combine to overcome the unfavorable qualitative nature of the land in teims of competition in the formal market, as noted by Connolly: Diis competition today applies to land wliich at first sight would appear to be unsuitable for residential development, given that even the most exixaisivc type of uibanization requiring massive retaining walls, irrigation systems, etc. is now a profitable conceni for this sector. (Connolly, fortlicoming:45). Transportation infrastructure also provides new uses for some such areas, making them more valuable, aiid incorporating them within the foniial market. The net result is increasing correspondence between the’ spatial ajid market dimensions of peripherality. As population pressure increases and available inner-metropolis spaces are saturated or erradicated, (that is, incorporated in the formal market) there has been a tendency for illegitimate occupation to occur more frequently on the existing fringe areas. Changes over time in the movement of population between slums and illegitimate settlements (characterized as core and periphery in spatial- : 1 1 5 has been tlie subject of some debate. 1011) Thus, some authors -t have argued tliat newly-arrived migrants go directly to core areas, mov­ ing to the periphery when tlieir economic situation improves: New migrants tend to move into central city slums in search of work opportunities... the peripheral : settlement is more properly the abode of those having secured a minimum of occupational stability. The peripheral settlement is often an area sought after, rather than escaped from. (Portes, 1972: 279). Others have maintained that center-periphery movement is a sign of deterioration in economic position: llie fajnilies wluch inliabit tlie slum areas (tugurios) move toward the areas of land invasion (asentamientos ■ . de precaristas),- impulsed by the deterioration in their economic situation. (Rosenbluth, :407). Clearly, the problem of mapping movements between these areas depends to some extent on the possibility of characterizing one or the other as generally more desireable or generally more costly, and internal dif­ ferences and chaiiges over time make this an almost impossible task. Recent investigations in Mexico, which accept direct movement to core areas as the traditional pattern, argue that as population pressure in these areas has reached a saturation limit, and as slum areas have been decreased through erradication, direct movement to the periphery is now becoming more importaiit (Ward, 1976:379; Cornelius, 1976:352). The ¿íidely-reported tendency for migrants to live with kin, combined ■ t with the widespread growth of peripheral illegitimate settlements, would in itself suggest that many present-day migrants to metropolitan areas do indeed locate initially in peripheral areas, although not ■ ■ -50- , /, ■■ •V .i: necessarily establishing a new residence. , The existing tendencies in the location of the urban population, seen in this context, reveal the extremely limited possibilities of achieving rational location in tcmis of productive roles; first, because the market value of urbanized land puts it increasingly beyond tlie reach of majority sectors, and secondly, because the infonual al­ ternatives, conditioned by the extension of the saine market, tend to permit tlie settling of population in areas increasingly distant from the city center. Prom a global point of view, peripheral location tends to reproduce tlie social segregation of the settlement, increase urban dispersion, and generate new necessities in the extension of infrastructure network b) (’ I radilla, 1978:78). Tlie Production of Housing in Precarious Urban Settlements Tlie initial construction of housing in illegitimate urban settle­ ments is generally acliicved tlirougji the ai)plication of family and other ruipaid or undeipaid labour, using rudimentary tools and some combination of waste materials, natural materials, and industrially-produced ele;nents, which provide tlie substandard shelter whidi caracterizes sudi areas. The building process is notoriously lengthy and inefficient, due to inexperience, inadequate building materials and the chronic lack of economic resources, whicli makes it costly in terms of the investment of labour time. The extended process of self-construction, which alfowj the purcliase of necessary materials only in very small quantities, also tends to increase the unit price, more so when the builder must rely on small local outlets which may charge higher-than-average prices, as is often reported in peripheral locations. The major economic ad- ppiW B rm ■ ■* ■ -:;• y-i •,-■ -51- r vantage is the pacing of construction progress in accordance with fluc­ tuations in the family economy. 1 Distinguished by tlie need to reduce monetary outputs to the minimum, the result is a reduction in the size and quality of the dwelling. The Iesulting overcrowding may be inferred from international data which demonstrate that th.e average number of persons per room is consistently higher in smaller dwellings, and increased between 1960-70, 1-room dwel­ lings averaging from 5.4 persons per room in Mexico (1970) to 3.3 persons per room in Brazil (1970) (Rosenbluth, :417). Data from one empirical study reports an average of 8 persons per room at the lowest income level (Janmiillo, 1978:18). yVnother empirical study of precarious settlements reveals a i average dwelling space of 1.1 m^ per person j (Pasternak, 1977:25). Narrow, with neither ventilation nor illumination, lacking sanitary facilities, structurally weak and the frequent victim of rain and landslides, offering little protection from the weather, located in unsanitary sites, this housing is far from satisfy­ ing the necessities of a family in the present socio-historical context of the development of capital and its modern productive forces. (Pradilla, 1978:42). c) The Improvement of Precarious Settlements The ijuprovement of precarious settlements over time is seen to be -52- V /■■■■ i / ■ • • i2 ■’- - ■ ■ ^ ■ a result of ‘ £- a) occupants upgrading of dwellings through the progressive substitution of standard building materials and the construction of infrastructure or and infrastructuie; b) government assistance in the provision of services or a combination of both. The question of tenure rights is widely noted as an important condition in tliis matter. In tliis view, the rental basis of inner-city sluju ureas makes it unlikely that occupants will invest in improvements, while the owners response to the constant demand for low-cost rental accomodation is progressive subdivision v\rhich leads to deterioration in tlie quality of the area. ITie question of improvement in precarious settlements in tlius largely limited from the ouï set to squatter settle­ ments and illegal subdivisions. The possibility that a household will invest an improv^ement is conditioned initially by tlie existence of a monetary surplus which could be .so applied. Individual differences in family income would thus ac- coLuit for tlie degree of heterogeneity which exists in such areas. More important, however, is an understanding of those dimensions which af­ fect the possibility of improvements for the marginalized population as a whole. In this respect, the tendency toward peripheral location of precarious settlements involves contradictory elements; the occupation of such land provides the only available channel to eventually achieving legal ownership; but may at the same time impose direct increases in the monetary cost of subsistance living through the increased outlays for . •af X ; ’ ’ ■ - 5 3 . * ‘: transportation :^md higher prices for otlier subsistence goods such as foodstuffs. (Pradilla, 1978:79). Fajnily income possibilities, on the other hand, may be reduced by peripheral location: Travelling results in liuge losses of time and reduces the opportuiiities for spare time odd jobbing . Similarly, the wife ajid child who previously had easy access to local emplo)TTient opportimities (taking in washing, shoe cleaning, hawking) find tliat surrounding neighbourhoods are less conducive to casual work. Both instances, may result in ¿m (Ward, 1976:344; overall decline of family income. see also Pasternak, 1977;Fl-8; Pradilla, 1978:79; Bcrlink, 1975:128). It sliould be noted at this point tliat daily travelling time of up to 4 hours lias been reported in metropolitan areas. Uninterpreted (Cornelius, 1978:20) income distribution and employment tendencies also suggest that improvement possibilities are not increasing, and when combined with re]iorted increases in tlie cost of house constnjction, (Ward, forthcoming:5; net effect is clear: Rosenbluth, :44; Pineda, 1972,197), the improvement through the informal construction alternative is increasingly costly, in a context where real purchasing powei\is being reduced. Even the limited success of past self-improve- men\ cannot therefore be expected to continue: ... the level of improvement achieved is closely related to the investment surpilus that is created if-, ’i * -54- itsclf a product of the type of employment and the income level of tl:e head of the household, etc. Given the growing difficulties of access to productive employment, tl:e low rate of increase of wages and rapid inflation, the prospects of future successful m self-help are reviewed, [Ward, fortlicomin^17). Tlie possibility of upgrading through the installation of services, on the other hand, is dependent upon government assistance, even though the community may provide the labour for necessary infrastructure. Government assistance would seemingly provide conditions which could ove.rcome the uiiregulatcd market forces, find improve the physical condi­ tions in establislied precarious settlements. A universal pre-condition for government assistance is the legaliza­ tion of property rights. As noted above, the achievement of security in tenure has been understood to lead to the inhabitajits increased investment, and considerable upgrading or consolidation of the settlement over time. This has been convincingly argued, for example, in tlie case of Pemjs pueblos jovenes during the 1950s and 1960s (Turner, 1975). In this inter]^retation, the improvement is seen to rest on the inliabitants possession of economic resources whidi are liberated by the legalization process. Assurred that they will not lose tlieir investment, building proceeds at an accelerated rate. It Is^cvident, however, that legalization alone is not a sufficient condition for improvement when the familys income does not in any case allow more rapid or more adequate cojrstruction. -55- It is also true that the legalization procedure may involve a monetary cost which could represent a considerable and sudden increase in the cost of houseliold subsistence. In some cases of illegal sub­ divisions, for exaiiiple, the purcliasers were obliged to pay twice for tlieir land, their original payments having no legitimacy at the time of legalization (Cornelius, 1976:259,63; Pradilla, 1978:30). The price establislied for the land at legalization may also include, in some cases, the investments already made by the settlers wliich represents a second form of double payment. When government assistance includes the provision of services, an additional and obligatory monetary output will be required. If installation requires the use of non-paid coimnunity labour, of course, the monetary payment will be combined with a payment in terms of labour-time. Tlic net effect of govenmient improvements wliich require payment for land, legalization, or services, will tlius liave differential effects on.the ces. settleiiient i0]:)ulation, ) depending on tlieir financial resour­ Wien they are able to meet the required costs of improvements, and still generate a surplus whicli could be applied to housing cons­ truction, it is reasonable to assume tliat upgrading will proceed. Those at the lower income levels, liowever, may not have sufficient resources to cover tlie legalization and/or services costs. case, two responses are possible; In this further subdivision in the form of sharing tlie lot, whicli could generate some rental income or at least decrease tJie payments tlirough sharing; or abandonment of tiie location. Botli responses have been reported in specific instances of legalization J r ‘ 14•iiiM* j i ’ I. .!.■ f r X- !vr-,w ‘ ■ ■■ ( ..■ ■ S ;t^ •JIfi . ,■ ^,■* I .» v # i 1 . - 5 6 - (Ward, forthcoming:13; Cornelius, 1976:262). To the extent that government assistance involves monetary costs, ■ J therefore, such assistance acts as an extension of the housing market, and as such will tend to eliminate those vdio cannot pay the price, as well as creating the necessary investment conditions for those who can. It has been argued, from this perspective, that government assistance to low-income settlements has in some cases acted to provide subsidized liOLising for higlier-income groups (Eckstein, 1977:61). M u l e tlicsc better-off liouseholds would be reluctant to undergo the insecurities of tenure at the outset and the rigours of living in a serviceless community, once legalization is assured they are interested in securing land at what is for them, a relatively low price. (Ward, forthcoming :14). Clearly, the effect of such measures in terms of expulsion or incori^oration in any specific case will vary depending on the cost/income ratio which exists. The tendency over time, however, will be similar to the f o m a l market tendencies, whicli reflect the same cost/income relationship -expulsion of those at the lower end of the distribution scale whose income is insufficient to meet tlie costs involved. The size of this group will reflect the purchasing power of tlie low-income population at ajiy given time. ■ Covernmont sites and services projects represent a very similar i dynajnic, with two exceptions: In the cases where sites and services f . , , •57- are provided before occupation has taken place, the exclusion mechanism may be present*from the outset, so that expulsion of original settlers may be less likely; and tlie selection of the site will tend to avoid those areas wliose qualities make them less amenable to urbanization such as steep liillsides and swimips. 0 i tlie other hand, the land provided for sites and services projects, ] as well as that made availal)le for goveiTuiient low-cost housing projects, tends inevitably to be located in periplierai areas, with the correspond­ ing disadvantages mentioned above. Low-cost housing projects have also been reported to suffer from payment default, occupancy tumover, and crowding; Frequently the low-cost housing projects suffer rapid clumges in occupancy due to payment default, and the propriet07s or renters tend to overpopulate their dwellings and, in part, use them for commercial purposes” . (Urquidi, 1975:409). The above discussion reveals that the question of improvement of precarious settlements cannot be approached tiirough a mere assessment y of physical changes in specific areas over time, since such transfoniiations may well represent a weeding-out process in which the most needy are forced to re-locate, initiating the same cycle in another area. PUBLIC INTERVEiNTION IN METROPOLITAN AREAS ■ J In a situation where a large proportion of the population is un- aUle to constitute a solvent demand for housing and urban services, public concern to achieve an adequate settlement standard necessarily implies that additional resources be allocated to these areas. Limited public funds, on the other hand, is often seen as the major impediment in improving urban conditions. If a strictly quantitative approach is applied to this question, it could be argued that precarious urban areas represent a major de facto solution for controlling the public cost of urban growth. Estimates of the sums which would be required to provide tliese areas vvith adequate services indicate the dimension of saving which the current situation represents. At the sfime time, the growth of metropolitan areas has provided the conditions for im])ressive acciunulation of capital in private en­ terprises linked with urban development, as well as enliancing personal wealtli which is derived from the concentration of population and the increased value of urban j^roperties, llie limitation of public funds must be seen in this context: creation of the conditions required for achieving adequate settlement standards depends, in the first instance, on the extent to whicli the benefits of urban growth accnie to the public sector, as this determines th^ quantity of funds available. The second requirement is an allocation of available resources in such a way t)iat existing discrepancies are diminished. ^iV ’ * . Public Control of Land Use and Land Values Public regulation over land use is necessary to assure that land is! transformed to urban uses in such a way that costs per iiiliabitant are minimized while benefits arc maximized. The cost of spatial ex­ pansion is related to both the amoimt of land transformed to urban use, and tlie relative cost of such transformation per inhabitant. The ty))e of land incoi-porated affects the cost of expansion directly when physical characteristics make the installation of infrastructure relatively more costly, and indirectly when the land absorbed had been in prior use for agricultural production. ITiblic intervention in limiting urban expansion through simple legislative controls on growth, exemplified by the prohibition of new residential subdivisions within Mexicos Federal District, are clearly ineffective. The result in tliis case was a proliferation of unauthorized subdivisions in adjacent municipalities, and even witlün the Federal District itself, and the legislation was eventually reversed. Legislation on the density of land use, which could limit the extent of expansion through the establisliment of maximum spatial standards, has not been attempted in any country. Th u s , the movement of liigh-income groups away from city-center areas has resulted in the growth of low-density sul^divisions which Iepresent a relatively in­ efficient use of land as well as high costs in tlic extension of public seryioe.,networks (hiT-lton, 1976:47). IVhile low-income peripheral settle- ■ i ments have been criticized in tliese same tents, it is necessary to point out that high-income groups tend to choose peripheral locations because -60- . o£ their advantages, wliile low-income settlements are much more a func­ tion of lack of alternatives. As we have seen, the establishment of precarious settlements on land ivhich is less amenable to urbanization isa necessary result of exclusion from formal land markets. The in­ creased cost of servicing these areas is thus avoidable only through measures which provide low-income populations with access to more suitable sites. Tliis implies a need for public action in the creation and appropriation of urban land values. The mechanisms available for controlling land use and spectulation, and assuring public benefit from the values generated by urbanization, are the establishment of adequate property taxes, and direct public participation in the urban land market (including expropriation and the establishment of land reserves). Legal devices are only as effective as their implementation, however, and problems are abundant (Rosenbluth, ;440). The Mexican case has been described as follows: In practice, land values liave generally been underestimated, registration of properties has been iiicomplete, and nuinerous exemptions have been granted with no legal justification.... Another major deficiency of governmental action in this area has been the failure to adjust the tax value of properties to reflect increases in : market value and rents charged resulting from i government investments in urban infrastructure. (Garza and Schteingart, 1978:78). - i ■ ■ ■ , 61 - The difficulties of collecting property taxes in Mexico are des­ cribed by Purcell and Purcell, who note that allocations may vary by asmuch as lOOi from year to year (Purcell also Cornelius, 1976:265). A Purcell, 1973:50, see more adequate valuation technique in the State of Mexico, on the other hand, increased revenues by 3001i in three years even though the tax rate was reduced by 25’ o (Garza and Schteingart, 1978:78). Gilbert notes that inadequate public revenue in Bogota is due ...mainly to the reluctance of national politicians to raise the tax rates or to introduce an effective tax on land, with the result that property taxes have risen more slowly than land prices, decreasing tki-proportion of total revenue which is derived from this source (Gilbert, 1978:109). The relatively high quality of urban services in Medellin, on the other hand, corresponds to an ability to collect taxes and generate other revenue on a per capita basis which is twice that of Bogota (Pent, 1978:142). Hardoy et al note that, with reference to Latin America as a whole, ... the traditional pioperty tax system has not had functional utility in urban development because of the following factors: a) the low and arbitrary assessment of properties, resulting in permanently inoperative property censuses; ^ b) the lack of mechanisms to adapt property assessment to the tremendous inflationary processes tliat the South Aiierican countries have suffered and are suffering; w-h m y - c) 62 - the ancient and deficient tax-collection system observable in the majority of South American coimtries; d) the fact that revenues are not destined for specific uses; and e) ignorance of the taxing capacity on the part of the urban and suburban population. (Hardoy, Basaldua, and Moreno, 1975:246) The creat ion of pubi i d ) ’ -owned land reserves is a widely-noted condition for rational ])lanning of urbaji development and the control of speculation (see eg. Cornelius, 1976:265). In this respect, the Bolivian urban reform law of 1954 is an example of the type of raeasury required, establishing a maximum amount of unimproved urban property which may be held, with any excédent subject to expropriation. The application of this law, however, was extremely limited and defective (United Nations, 1973:67), unrelated to urban planning needs, and resulted in the expropriation of only limited quantities of land (95 hectares, according to Rojas, 1972:181). The Vejiezuelan legal statues on expropriation are also distinguished by their progressive nature, but in this case practical application has been constrained by the higli costs of urban land. Thus, public expro­ priation necessary for the housing programs of the Banco Obrero has been limited in some cases by the quantity of funds required to pay fo:4 ^propriated property (Lander, 1975:104; United Nations, 1972:14), an effect which occurs in most Latin American countries (United Nations, 1973:19). In many countries, the cumbersome nature of regulations for exjiropriation represent an additional barrier to public action. - -^ i • V . f Clearly, public intervention in the land market must be of con­ siderable dimension if it is to affect the market price of urban land, life efforts of tlie Cliilean urban improvement corporation CORMi and the Mexican institute INPOMAVIT in, creating land reserves have had reported success in decreasino the cost of urban land for government liousing projects (United Nations, 1973:21; Roscnbluth, :442). In the Mexican case, the cost of land was reduced to 41 of the sale value of liousing units (Nunez, 1978:24n25). Despite tliese notable benefits which result from public purchase of land, liowcver, the continued functioning of a capitalist land market has meant that public purchases tend to occur in peripheral areas where prices arc lowest, resulting in an increased financial burden in the provision of infrastructure and services (Nunez, 1978:24). Furthermore, the anticipated extension of services to those areas serves to increase the value of adjoining properties. If tlicse are privately-owned, the result is increased land prices and speculation in the new areas (United Nations, 1978:100), which tends to force future public develop­ ment into still more distant areas, indicating the difficulties inherent in partial efforts at controlling the market forces which exist. InfrastiTJCture and Services The extremely unequal access to services which is a major factor in :tl^identification of ecologically marginal urban areas indicates i that criteria for public investment are their commercial importance . strongly related to (Gilbert and Ward, in press:288), and in large part, based on ... the principle of profitability of public investment, with the object of guaranteeing returns on the • X cajiital invested (Barreto and Gilbert, 1977:176). Thus, dif­ ferential access to such goods and services tends to correspond to differential access to housing (Menry, 1975:174), ... the creation by the state of urban in­ frastructure works literally paving the way for the preferential expansion of large commercial, industrial, and middle to upper class residential zones. Elaborate urban improvements... have consistently catered to the convenience of the upper classes just as they have left the poorer sections in neglect or ill-repair or have provided modest and belated improvements. (Walton, 1978:41) •’ The value created by public urban improvements inevitably in­ creases the market value of the property affected. When this land is privately owned, added-value accrues to tliese segments of the population. Legislation in Colombia, Equador, Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Uruguay includes provision for public recovery of at least part of the increased value through special taxation (United Nations, 1973; 60-63). ; j • ; - These laws, however, ... are applied with great timidity or are rapidly -t defeated by the powerful pressure of interested parties. (Lander, 1975:110) f f * ■ ’ • ■ ; -6 5 --’ v ■ The result is further concentration of the costs and benefits of urban development. Wlien real income is defined as including access toljobs, educational facilities, sewer and water systems, and the incidence of infectious disease and infant mortality, the spatian and interpersonal distribution of real income is more unequal than the distribution of monetary income. This can be seen as the result of a circular causality chain in wliich the higher-income groups outbid lower-income groups for more desirable sites; the resultant concentra­ tion of higlier-income houseliolds acts to generate a more effective demand for public services; whicli results in even higher market value of tliese sites (Vetter and Brasileiro, 1978:266). The above considerations reveal that ineffective public action in the control of land use has allowed the value of urban development to accrue to private groups. Insufficient public resources for improving urban standards is a direct result of this dynamic. Furthermore, the provision of infrastructure has only served to reinforce the unequal distribution of social and private wealth. Riblic Investment in the Housing Market: Finance and Construction The savings and loans associations established in most Latin American countries provide individual loans for the purchase of housing ajid act to extend the housing market. Such measures are clJarly necessary in market economies where housing is produced as a coiimodity, even in developed societies where incomes are much higher and access to housuig much less problematic. Their contri- ■ • ■ ■ ■ • ‘ ■■• ^ 1i ■ ^i‘ ‘’i ■ ’’ ■ ■ ■ ?■ )*J, i j •A t bution to the development of human settlements is undeniable, the V total nim^hor of associates in nine countries - increasing from 223 000 in 1964 to 1 020 000 in 1968. The loan programs of Colombia and Brazil, conceived of as a means of stimulating the construction industry, have achieved con­ siderable success in these tents (Gilbert and Ward, in press:313). In Brazil, tlie number of houses financed through savings and loans plans increased from 20 000 in 1965 to 167 000 in 1968 (Rosenbluth, ;432). Hoped-for ¡-»ositive effects from tlie creation of additional em­ ployment have been diminished by the notoriously low salaries and unstable incomes generated in the construction sector. The increased dynatiism of the construction industry, on the other hand, has had secondary effects, such as increased prices of building materials and land, which exceed the effects of income generated in this sector: Those wlio rejnain dependent upon spontaneous housing will suffer from rising costs of building materials and will be excluded from the publiclyowned land in the new centers. They will thus be more dependent than ever upon the forces of the market and especially the private land speculator. (Gilbert, 1978:120) Bolivia, Chile, Equador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Peru Dominican Republic, and Venezuela (Rosenbluth, :432). ?l -67- The exclusion of low-income candidates is most predictable when loans are available only for completed housing units, since the sa­ vings required are higher in this case: ... these conditions are not within the reach of the famiies of uncontrolled urban settlements, who only rarely have saved sufficient sums and who, as a general rule, cannot make long-term commitments, because of limited and insecure income. (United Nations, 1972:130) In the revised regulations of the Brazilian Banco Nacional de Habitacao, provision has been made for loans to be applied to the purcliase of building materials or installation or improvement of services. Since the program is expected to be financially self- sustaining, however, ... only those proprietors with greater economic capacity could take advantage of its benefits. :441). The Colombian Banco Central Hipotecario provides an example of differentiated loans tions. (Rosenbluth, which represent a gradiation of housing solu­ In 1973, minimum solution loans (applicable to houses up to 40 m2) represented 15.I’ of the total number of loans granted, and d only 4.4’ of total funds available were assigned to this category. d Maximum solution loans (90 m2 and up) in the same year represented 52.9“ of total loans and 75.7% of the total funds granted (Rosenbluth, ; -:43G). The reach of savings and loans plans has thus been largely confined f f y ; s*», ’ - j, .............. -68~ ■ V »fi.s»■ .•• •, 1 MS * i tA ; ■ iJiWii to middle and upper-income groups, especially when loans are granted only for the juuchase of completed liousing units. I1\e distributive meckanisms utilized, which tend to favour higher-income groups aspira■•tions to high-standard housing, have chanjielled available resources in this direction, while the direct positive effect on the purchasing power of the low-iiicomc population has been minitmun. Social Interest Housing Mexico’s INPONAVIT program of housing for salaried workers represents one of the few examples of liousing prognuns wliich require the participa­ tionof cmiilO)ers -in this casesalaries to the housing fund. tlirough a contribution of 51 of No down pa)ment is required, and monthly payments are based on a percentage of salary earned (141 for 1 to 2.5 minimuin .salaries; 181 for liigher incomes: Nunez, 1978:21). ■ These characteristics allow the plan to reach salaried workers whose ■ average incojiic is 1.6 miniiimuii salaries, a considerable acliievment. In tenns of the absolute numbers seived, however, only 2.851 of the 4 million affiliates will be allocated credits (.Nunez, 1978:22, 26). As in the case of other government housing projects, the population v;hich depends on informal earnings or unstable employment bonds is not in­ cluded in the plan. In.those cases where govcniment housing projects have been as­ sociated with sliun erradication or the forced relocation of populations established in precarious areas, the economic situation of those . ‘ Vn Ï ■ ’benefited has resulted in itassivc payment defaults. ’ Such programs have been conceptualized as producer-oriented (Leeds, 1973) since thêy are organized, controlled and executed through a combination of government and private entities who set housing standards without con­ sidering the low-income consumers need for flexibility in both pay­ ment schedules and housing design. standard at a relatively The decision to construct complete higher unit cost will thus inevitably reach a relatively smaller number of persons than a program which is based on an evaluation of the consumers needs and financial possibilités. Ivhile tlie distribution of sucli housing units has not in general been extended to the lowest income groups, the advantages to the private sector are clear. As noted by Leeds, the immediate beneficiares of such programs are the housing industry and credit and financial agencies (Leeds, 1973;18S) wlio benefit from increased demand, public guarantees, ant) access to the necessary circulation capital. Tlie sale of houses to INI-ONAVIT has been described as providing, ... a clear example of State support to capitalist accumulation in the real estate sector (financing of the demand by means of devalued public capital). (Schteingart, 1978:21; see also Jaramillo, 1978:54) Wolfe has noted that the major part of public housing programs in;Latiñ America has been directed toward lower-middle income groups, basically public employees and the organized working class (IVolfe, 1976:232). Direct public intervention in tiie production of housing •70- units has thus tended, like public loans, to exclude those sectors most in need of assistance. Not only do such projects yield a totally in­ adequate number of dwcllinj^ units, relative to the actual demand for housing, but the units constructed are invariably so costly that poor fajiiilies caiinot afford to purchase them, llie result, in city after city, is that the middle classes liave been tlie principal beneficiaries of massive investments in public housing. (Comelius, 1978:18, see also Rosenbluth, 461; IJtria, 1975:444); 1978:71 on Mexico; : Garza and Schteingart, Moore, 1978:189 on Guayaquil; Dietz, 1978:221 on Lima; Vetter and Brasileiro, 1978:267 on Rio) Sites and Services Projects: self-help Housing, Government programs to provide land (urbanized or semi-urbanized) construction materials, technical assistance, or loans for user-built housing are based on explicit recognition that large segments of the population cannnot afford market-produced housing (government-sponsored or not). In principal, such programs recognize both the low-income groupsneed to pace housing expenditure and construction in terms of ■ i limited available resources, and the fact that a more extensive dis­ tribution of limited public resources means that each recipient will r / • -71- ;■ •necessarily receive less than standard, sciviced housing. The Chilean project Operación Sitio serves as an example of a more comprehensive type of program, based on the provision of semiurbanized lots and temporary shelters in an area supplied with streets, drinking water and electricity. Construction materials were produced in some such areas, and loans made available for their purchase (Cimfricz, 1972:204-206). The Peruvian National Office for the Develop­ ment of ITieblos Jovenes (ONDEPJOV) represents a similar attempt to up­ grade established precarious settlements or relocated low-income popula­ tions on government-owned land, providing them with legal titles and Support for infrastructure and housing construction. Wl\ile sucli programs have at times been criticized as simply ins­ titutionalizing substandard living conditions, tl\ey have clear comparative advantages over the public construction or finance of standard housing units which tend to eliminate low-income families from any benefit, as noted above. The elimination of lowest-income families is not totally avoided in these pltms (see pg. 54-57), and the extent of public in­ vestment has not been sufficient to achieve adequate settlement standards either within the target areas or for tlie population as a whole. In this case, however, the inability of such schemes to achieve their goals is related less to their distributive criteria and operational plans tlianto- the constraints imposed by the discrepancy between available ¥ public funds and the size of the low-income population, and these are questions which exceed the boundaries of any specific program. -72- CQNCLUSION X Continued deterioration in the quaiit) of Latin American metro­ politan areas, expressed in the continued growth of ecologically marginal areas, can be seen as the outcome of a process of competition in which private interests of capital accumulation have prevailed over social interests in access to immediate necessities. Public interven­ tion up to the present has not in general been noticeably effective in reversing these tendencies: The dominant role of contemporary public institu‘ tions has not been to prevent capitalist distorsions of urban development but rather to adapt the city, as well as possible, to the new and difficult condi­ tions. (Walton, 1976:49) In part, lack of success in solving the problems of human settle­ ments may be due to a lack of understanding of the interconnected and hierarchical nature of socio-economic process involved. Attempts to intervene at a lower level of this hierarchy will necessarily be condi­ tioned at a higher level, and specific policies which ignore this fact will be doomed to failure or, at most, very limited success. In this respect, it is necessary to repeat the conclusions of the United-liations report Mejoriuniento de Tugurios y Asentamientos no controlados which identifies the two principal causes of urban d e ­ terioration: Unemployment and insufficient income in large sectors o£ the population; and an insufficient offer of urban land [United Nations, 1972:7). Bstablisliment of minimira wages which are unrelated to tlie cost of living and inadequate for tlic consumption of immediate necessities is an effective short-teim means of assuring the accumulation of capital, but the housing deficit is importantly related to this (income) deficit and squatments are its resolution. » 190). (Leeds, 1973: Thus, ... an economic policy which raises the price of basic foodstuffs,while holding back wages, has as mucli bearing on the ability of the squatter to contribute to individual and community develop­ ment -through its effect on his real disposable income- as any lack of commitment by public agencies involved in self-help prograjimes. (Skimier, forthcoming;18) In the long run, liowever, the resultmit concentration of income and reduced internal market for consumer goods which results from u n ­ employment and inadequate income will also act against the interests of capital accumulation and the development of the productive structure as a whole, as is becoming increasingly evident in many Latin American cquJltrTes. Control over the urban land market is the second necessary condition for resolution of the problems of human settlements: y ; ■ 4i ‘ f •f . ¥ -74- i.*i„-‘ *i ■? i T: 7 No satisfactory housing program can be carried out on a large scale which is not based on the controlled use of land. [United Nations, 1972:117) Public control in this area implies a j ccc I for recognition of M land as having a social function. In fact, constitutional changes in many countries during tlic 1960s do include recognition of this function, but legislation has not reflected this fact (United Nations, 1973:72). Once again, interests of accmuulation have prevailed over social interests: In some countries... in certain stages of de­ velopment, land speculation is considered as one of tlie factors of economic development. In these countries the public authorities are not interested in maintaining low ]:irices, on the contrary, it is - suggested that elevated land prices are an important stimulant for economic development. (United Nations, 1978:71) Tlie responsibility of tlie State is not confined to the simple neglect of constitutional guidelines on this vital matter, since state investment in urbanization is a necessary condition for the iperjased value of urban land and resultant speculation: Altliough the value of urban land is a good which belongs to soc:iety as a whole -because it y V - : ^ : . -•» is not a value created by individual effort but rather by the investments and plaivjing decisions - of this society- this value is normally expro- priated by individuals. (United Nations, 1978: SI) Clearly, effective public policy in instituting control over land use will have to confront the various and powerful private interests which are active in this area. However, the long-term detrimental effects of allowing private control in this area are also undeniable: One point in favor of such strategies for control / of speculation is that it is quite detrimental to national development to have so much capital being invested in land rather than in productive enter­ prises. Investiiients in land have very weak income and employiient multiplier effects. (Vetter and Brasileiro, 1978:275) In siUTi, while urban problems have often been considered the result of irrational development, such a view overlooks the fact that industrial contamination, land speculation, and slum overcrowd­ ing and deterioration (not to mention metropolitan agglomeration per se; see Geller) are rational outcomes of profit maximization in a market economy, exacerbated by the constraints of dependency, i An abvious conclusion is that effective control over human settlement processes will depend fundaiientally on public control of ■ •-• *f ^ Î , , . ,• , i. . .(.¡■/.-4;’‘ -f4- Y .f’■ i V - the sources of irrationality (such as land speculation) and not the consequences (such as precarious settlements). Criteria of success, on the other hand, are explicit in the revised constitutions of many Latin American countries, and implicit in the universal agreement that some control over the process of human settlement is urgently needed: a need to diminish the public cost of urban concentration (in both quantitative and qualitative terms) and to achieve a more adequate settlement standard through a more equitable distribution of the benefits (in provision of housing and services, at the minimum). Specific public policies must be assessed in these terms. ■■ - The model j^roposcd here for the investigation of human settlement processes is ci early limited, in its application, to dependent market economies. The case of Cuba thus falls outside the scope of this work, since revolutionary policies have overcome the opposition of private accumulation and public necessities, conceived here as fundamental in understanding thé dynamic of human settlements. This does not mean, however, that the Cuban case is irrelevant to the argument. On the contrary, Cuba provides an important exception in the two major causes of urban deterioration identified here, having achieved full employiTient and public control over urban property, thus eliminating the private profits whicli increase the public cost of urban expansion in otlier couJitries. In tuni, an emphasis on the provision of immediate necessities lias led to important increases in food-production and the production of building materials, as well as providing free medical and educa- íh ‘W j t i m i V í. V • ‘ , • .* . «ü .K k ktv ■ !. * ’ , k- -77- tional services to the population. z*»9 *’‘ ’■* * i ■ i I;-/ .,í ‘j - . , s An important measure of Cubas achievement in providing an adequate standard of consumption of a basic necessities is the fact that the Cuban population has the highest life-expectancy of any Latin /\merican country (Organización Panamericana de la Salud). side The program to urbanize the country­ ]ias served to diminish the difference between rural and urban settlements, while rationing of basic products has meant that dif­ ferences in consumption patterns are less than differences in monetary income. These are conditions which have allowed public control over hunjan settlement processes, again providing an exception to the rule in Latin America, as the following reveals: The private enterprises not only have attempted to achieve excessive gains, but also have absolutely not considered public interest. Furthermore, in many countries the private sector has been responsible for channelling public and private funds toward improductive development and speculation. In almost all countries the municipalities have regulatory authority which would have allowed them to determine land uses and tlie characteristics of urban cons­ truction. In reality, however, since they lack both land and a policy of continuous acquisition of land, the initiative has been left in the hands of the private sector. A notable exception to this -78- ■IX /«•.,fi t ;.■ ;•:• ‘ . this situation is Cuba. ^ (United Nations, 1973:18) This indicates that tlie exceptional case is important in both iBialysis of human settlement problems, and in establishing policies which will provide an effective basis for intervention. 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Creating the Divided City; in LATIN AMERICAN URBAN RESEARCH, Voi. 6. -Ward, Peter, forthcoming (a) - Introduction and Purpose; in Peter Ward, op. cit. -Ward, Peter, forthcoming - The Practice and Potential of Self-help Housing in Mexico City, in Peter Ward, op. cit. -Ward, Peter, 1976a - Intra-city Migration to Squatter Settlements in Mexico City; GEOFORUM V. 7. -Ward, Peter, 1976b - TJie Squatter Settlement as Slum of Housing Solution: Evidence from Mexico City; LAND ECONOMICS 5 2 - 3 . -Wolfe, Marshall, 1976 - EL DESx\RROLLO ESQUIVO, Fondo de Cultura Econòmica, Mexico. -Woortman, Klaas, no date - Family Planning Among Peasants and the Urban Poor, mimeo. REFERENCIAS ORIGINALES - DOCUMENTO SOBRE ASENTÄIIENTOS HUMANOS MARGINADO^ KAREN GIFFIN, PAG, NO. DICIEMBRE 1978 AUTOR REFERENCIA Saffiotti, 1975:45 Muchas entrevistadas declararon que la renta familiar no permite una alimentación adecuada, ni siquiera desde el punto de vista cuantitativa. Hay familias que sencillamente no comen al final de mes por falta de absoluta de recursos fi­ nancieros para adquirir alimentos. Bolivar Lovera, 1978:75 ... el 23% de las familias venezolanas, que perciben un in­ greso inferior a Bs. 500 mensuales, no tienen ingresos ni si­ quiera para cubrir las necesidades alimenticias mínimas. Al 53.6% de las familias que poseen un ingreso mensual de Bs. 1000, no les queda nada para pagar vivienda, suponiendo que cubran, en primer lugar, los gastos de alimentación, vestido, salud, transporte. 20 Cardoso, 1972:174 ... a marginalidade supoe sempre dependencia de outras estruturas dominantes. 20 Quijano, 1970:36 ... en esa integración se combinan modalidades y niveles de producción que abarcan desde los mas primitivos hasta los más recientes del desarrollo capitalista... 23 Berlinch, 1975:149 ... foi possivel demonstrar que a instnbilidade ocupacional.. permite a realizaçào de u lucro marginal no setor industrial m. e a sobrevivencia de certas industrias tradicionais e/ou competitivas que, de outra forma, nao teriam condiçoes de operar no mercado. 23 Lomnitz, 1978:139 Se trataba de empresas muy pequeñas -en barrios popularesy los sueldos que pagaba eran muy inferiores a los que hubiera tenido que pagar si no se tratase de parientes. Tampoco tenía que preocuparse de problemas tales como el pago de horas ex­ traordinarias, de impuestos y contribuciones, o de seguros. -■ ■■ í ! : - - AUTOR PAG. NO. 24 2 , ■f * ■! Lomnitz, REFERENCIA 1978:136 Tales grupos formados por parientes y vecinos suelen en­ c o n t r a r s e en la i n d u s t r i a d e la c o n s t r u c c i ó n y e n m u c h o s otros campos que utilizan mano de o b r a c a l i f i c a d a o semi- califIcada. UN 1978:32 La p r o p i e d a d privada la p o b l a c i ó n 28 significa de la t i e r r a p o r u n a p e q u e ñ a c a p a de en la g r a n m a y o r í a d i s f r u t a r i n c l u i d a la v i v i e n d a . . . 31 Utria q u e es imposible para de u s o d e la ti e r r a, 1975:438 Si b i e n es reducciones cierto que pueden y deben lograrse algunas - s o b r e t o d o r a c i o n a l i z a n d o el d i s e ñ o y la producción-, de los c o s t o s ciones 34 realidad de d e r e c h o s es o b v i o q u e las c a r a c t e r í s t i c a s y t e n d e n c i a s c o n t i n u a r a n si no se i n t r o d u c e n las m o d i f i c a ­ estructurales Lomnitz, correspondientes. 1975:187 La c a l i d a d de un compadre, no se m i d e p o r de su a p o r t a c i ó n ceremonial, f i a b i l i d a d d e la r e l a c i ó n d e desarrolla posteriormente. L o m n i t z , 1978:150 Lo s i n t e r m e d i a r i o s la g e n e r o s i d a d s i n o p o r la i n t e n s i d a d y c o n ­ intercambio recíproco que se de las b a r r i a d a s o del s e c t o r m a r g i n a l en g e n e r a l , c o n t r o l a n las a r t i c u l a c i o n e s e n t r e s u p r o p i o g r u p o s o c i a l y las i n s t i t u c i o n e s f o r m a l e s d e f u e r a , e n u n a forma que 44 tiende Berlinck, 1978:128 Os m o r a d o r e s zonas de industriáis a preservar favelas e perto de c l a s s e s a l t a s n a o a l t a s do q u e o g r u p o um aumento maior 49 Rosenbluth, Las familias na el s t a t u pequeñas quo al m á x i m o . localizadas de b a r r i o s l o n g e de de m o r a d i a d e m e m b r o s so g e r a m r e n d a s s e n s i v e l m e n t e m a i s a n t e r i o r como, tambem, a p r e s e n t a m renda total da unidade familiar. :407 que habitan en l a s áreas tugurizadas se d e s ­ p l a z a n h a c i a las á r e a s de i n v a s i ó n d e t e r r e n o s ( a s e n t a m i e n t o s de p r e c a r i s t a s ) i m p u l s a d a s p o r el d e t e r i o r o de s u s i t u a c i ó n e c o n ó m i c a . ..” -3 - NO. PAG. 51 AUTOR Pradilla, REFERENCIA 1978:42 Estrecha, s i n v e n t i l a c i ó n ni iluminación, sin servicios sanitarios, endeble estructuralmente y víctima frecuente de lluvias y d e s l i z a m i e n t o s d e tie rr a , c o n p o c a c a p a c i d a d de p r o t e c c i ó n de las i n c l e m e n c i a s d e l t i e m p o , l o c a l i z a d a en s i t i o s i n s a l u b r e s , e s t a v i v i e n d a e s t á m u y l e j o s de s a ­ tisfacer l as n e c e s i d a d e s de u n a historico-social modernas 51 actual fuerzas productivas. Urquidi, f a m i l i a e n el c o n t e x t o del d esarrollo del c a p i t a l y sus 1978:409 C o n f r e c u e n c i a l o s p r o y e c t o s de v i v i e n d a d e b a j o c o s t o s u f r e n de c a m b i o s r á p i d o s e n la o c u p a c i ó n d e b i d o s a la f a lt a de p a g o, y los p r o p i e t a r i o s a s o b r e p o b l a r sus h a b i t a c i o n e s y, fines comerciales. 64 Barreto Gilbert, o los i n q u i l i n o s t i e n d e n en p a r t e , a u s a r l a s p a r a 1977:176 ... el p r i n c i p i o de r e n t a b i l i d a d d e la i n v e r s i ó n p u b l i c a , c o n el o b j e t o d e g a r a n t i z a r el r e n d i m i e n t o d e l c a p i t a l invertido. 64 L a n d e r , 1975:110 ... Se a p l i c a n mente 67 UN, con m u c h a timidez o son derogados la p o d e r o s a p r e s i ó n de los s e c t o r e s estas c o n diciones no los a s e n t a m i e n t o s han ahorrado sumas e s t á n al urbanos no suficientes a l c a n c e de controlados, y que, por Rosenbluth, ... mica 69 las que familias rara vez regla general, no p u e d e n a c e p t a r c o m p r o m i s o s a l a r g o p l az o , lo l i m i t a d o e i n s e g u r o de sus i n g r e s o s . 67 rápida­ interesados. 1972:130 ... de ante en r a z ó n de :441 sólo a q u e l l o s p r o p i e t a r i o s con m a y o r cap a c i d a d p u d i e r o n a c o g e r s e a sus b e n e f i c i o s . . . Schteingart, 1978:21 ...un ejemplo econó­ claro de a p o y o d e l E s t a d o a la a c u m u l a c i ó n c a p i t a l i s t a e n el s e c t o r i n m o b i l i a r i o ( f i n a n c i a c i ó n d e la demanda por m e d i o del capital publico desvalorizado). -Vjfcírpt5 ; * T . » . \,,v -4- PAG. NO. 74 AUTOR REFERENCIA UN, 1972:117 No p u e d e r e a l i z a r s e ningún, p r o g r a m a v i e n d a en g r a n e s c a l a q u e no c o n t r o l a d a de la tierra. 74 UN, se b a s e satisfactorio de vi­ en la u t i l i z a c i ó n 197 8 :7 1 En a l g u n o s países... especulación t ores en en c i e r t a e t a p a d e d e s a r r o l l o , tierras de d e s a r r o l l o se c o n s i d e r a económico. como uno de En esos países, los la fac­ las a u t o ­ r i d a d e s p ú b l i c a s no e s t á n i n t e r e s a d a s e n m a n t e n e r los precios bajos; p o r el c o n t r a r i o , se s u g i e r e q u e los e l e v a d o s p r e c i o s de la t i e r r a s o n p a r a el d e s a r r o l l o e c o n ó m i c o . 74 UN, importante 1978 :5 1 Aunque el v a l o r pertenece el e s f u e r z o expropiado UN, de la t i e r r a a la s o c i e d a d individual de p l a n i f i c a c i ó n 77 un e s t í m u l o por sino de e s a u r b a n a es un b i e n - p o r q u e n o es u n v a l o r por las sociedad- que creado por inversiones y decisiones e s e v a l o r es n o r m a l m e n t e los p a r t i c u l a r e s . 1973:18 Las empresas privadas no sólo han tratado de lograr uti­ lidades exc e s i v a s sino que no ha n tenido a b s o l u t a m e n t e en c u e n t a el i n t e r é s p ú b l i c o . M á s aún, e n m u c h o s p a í s e s el sector privado ha públicos y privados sido se resp o n s a b l e de que los fondos canalizaron hacia desarrollos im­ p r o d u c t i v o s y de e s p e c u l a c i ó n . E n c a s i t o d o s l o s pa í s e s, las m u n i c i p a l i d a d e s t i e n e n a u t o r i d a d r e g u l a d o r a que, si se a p l i c a r a e f i c a z m e n t e , les h u b i e r a n p e r m i t i d o d e t e r m i n a r los uso s de la tierra y las características de la c o n s t r u c ­ ción urbana. En la p r á c t i c a , s i n e m b a r g o , p o r c a r e c e r t a n t o de t i e r r a s p r o p i a s c o m o d e u n a p o l í t i c a d e a d q u i s i c i ó n c o n t i n u a de t i e r ra s , la i n i c i a t i v a se h a d e j a d o e n m a n o s del sector privado. Una e x c e p c i ó n notable de esta s i t u a ­ ción es a c t u a l m e n t e C uba.