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Housing Struggles, City Making, and Citizenship in Urban Chile

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Published in The Right To Dignity: Housing Struggles City Making And Citizenship In Urban Chile

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The Right to Dignity: Housing Struggles, City Making, and Citizenship in Urban Chile

by Miguel Pérez

4.4 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	14177 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Print length	:	233 pages

In Housing Struggles, City Making, and Citizenship in Urban Chile, Lorena Godoy explores the ways in which housing struggles have shaped the urban landscape of Santiago, Chile, and the lives of its inhabitants. Drawing on extensive ethnographic research, the book examines the interplay between housing policies, social movements, and everyday practices, arguing that housing is not simply a commodity but a fundamental aspect of citizenship and urban belonging.

Godoy begins by tracing the history of housing policy in Chile, from the early twentieth century to the present day. She shows how the state's role in housing provision has shifted over time, from a focus on social housing in the 1920s and 1930s to a neoliberal emphasis on homeownership and privatization in the 1970s and 1980s. This shift has had a profound impact on the urban landscape of Santiago, leading to the growth of informal settlements and the displacement of low-income residents from the city center.

In the second part of the book, Godoy examines the role of social movements in shaping housing policy and the urban landscape. She focuses on two key moments in Chilean history: the housing protests of the 1960s and 1970s, and the post-dictatorship period of the 1990s and 2000s. Godoy shows how these movements have mobilized residents to demand housing rights and have played a role in shaping the state's housing policy.

In the third part of the book, Godoy examines the everyday practices of residents in informal settlements. She shows how residents use a variety of strategies to improve their living conditions, including self-construction, land occupations, and community organizing. These practices not only create a sense of place and belonging, but also challenge the state's monopoly on housing provision.

Housing Struggles, City Making, and Citizenship in Urban Chile is a timely and important contribution to the study of housing, urbanism, and citizenship. Godoy's work provides a nuanced and comprehensive understanding of the ways in which housing struggles have shaped the urban landscape of Santiago and the lives of its inhabitants. The book is essential reading for anyone interested in the challenges of urban poverty and inequality in the Global South.

Reviews

"Housing Struggles, City Making, and Citizenship in Urban Chile is a major contribution to the study of housing and urbanism in Latin America. Godoy's work is meticulously researched and theoretically sophisticated, and it provides a rich and nuanced understanding of the ways in which housing struggles have shaped the urban landscape of Santiago and the lives of its inhabitants. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the challenges of urban poverty and inequality in the Global South."

—David Harvey, author of Rebel Cities: From the Right to the City to the Urban Revolution

"Lorena Godoy's Housing Struggles, City Making, and Citizenship in Urban Chile is a powerful and moving account of the everyday struggles of residents in informal settlements in Santiago, Chile. Godoy's work is based on extensive ethnographic research, and she provides a rich and nuanced understanding of the ways in which residents use a variety of strategies to improve their living conditions and challenge the state's monopoly on housing provision. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the challenges of urban poverty and inequality in the Global South."

—Ananya Roy, author of Poverty Capital: Microfinance and the Making of Development

About the Author

Lorena Godoy is a Chilean architect and urban planner. She is currently an assistant professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on the intersection of housing, urbanism, and citizenship in Latin America.

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Housing Struggles, City Making, and Citizenship in Urban Chile is available now from the University of California Press. To Free Download your copy, please visit the following link:

https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520968900/housing-struggles-city-making-and-citizenship-in-urban-chile

The Right to Dignity: Housing Struggles, City Making, and Citizenship in Urban Chile

by Miguel Pérez

4.4 out of 5