Open f-iouse International Vol. 10. No. 4 1985. FM25

univcrsid;rd P! 1ciw:ll dz C01"t:lhi~

.-. FROM LAND MARKETS TO HOUSING MARKETS:

l . . . ' 4. ., ' ; [&.&:i*, , ,;, ! *:<, ; ? , , . . ' ,

transformation of illegal settlements in Medellin.

Paul Baross, Nora Mesa

T h i s paper r e p o r t s o n some comparat ive aspects o f low income sett lement development i n Medel l in, Colombia. The not ion o f "comparative" r e f e r s t o two d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f set t lement formations w h i c h a re recognized as such 60th in the popu la r language and w i t h i n t h e w o r k i n g f ramework t h e Munic ipal Planning Agency uses t o c lass i fy t h e

- var ious unauthor ized ne ighbourhoods in the c i t y . One sett lement t y p e i s ca l led "invasione", t h e o ther "p i rata" .

Invasiones, as the name suggests , a re c reated t h r o u g h the i l legal occupat ion o f land. T h e possession is i n i t i a l l y symbol ized b y t h e const ruc t ion o f a simple she l te r ( rancho) and t h e s tak ing o u t o f "plots", w h i c h t h e families cons ider

I N I T I A L S T A G E of an invasion site at the edge of a public housing project.

CONSOLIDA TED IN YASlONES S / T E .

as t h e i r t e r r i t o r i a l domain. O f ten ne i t he r t h e b o u n d a r y o f the actual "s i te" , n o r a recognizable phys i ca l "p lan" ex is ts in t h i s i n i t i a l stage, because new families con t i nue t o expand the invas ion area and fill in new "plots". ( 2 )

P i ra ta developments a re organ ized by landowners o r promoters, who s u b d i v i d e a n d sel l res ident ia l p lo ts w i thou t ob ta in ing t h e necessary development permi ts f rom t h e munic ipa l author i t ies. These sett lements have a de f i n i t e s i t e boundary , p lanned layout , space se t aside f o r pub l i c use a n d p lo t s are c lea r l y marked, o f t en a range o f d i f f e r e n t sizes.

T h u s in t h e i n i t i a l s tage o f development, which we w i l l ca l l llautonomous", re f l ec t i ng the fac t t h a t t he re is n o munic ipal pa r t i c i pa t i on i n t he process, t h e t w o sett lement t ypes have a v e r y d i f f e r e n t space app rop r i a t i on cha rac te r ( F i g u r e 1 ). T h i s d i f f e rence i s also ev iden t f o r a casual observer ; invasione s i tes a re phys i ca l l y unorgan ized a n d al l t he dwel l ings have a temporary character , p i ra ta s i tes have a rud imen ta ry road ne twork a n d most families s t a r t b u i l d i n g w i t h permanent materials. ( F i g u r e 2, 3 ) . We cou ld also assume t h a t t he re are d i f f e r e n t types o f families pa r t i c i pa t i ng i n t h e two processes ( income, jobs, demographic composi t ion), because in t h e invasione sett lements l and is f ree, whereas in t h e p i ra ta s i tes t h e l a n d is sold. We say t h a t we "assume" fo r t w o reasons. O n the one hand income r e p o r t i n g t h r o u g h o r thodox quest ionnaires remain no to r i ous l y unre l iab le . On the o the r hand, i n i t i a l l y land pr ices in p i ra ta sett lements were r a t h e r low and t h e developers usua l ly o f f e r e d c r e d i t s ex tend ing up t o 10 years t o pay for t h e p lo t . I n t h e late 1960's. when p i ra ta development f lour ished, families h a v i n g an income a round t h e minimum wage cou ld easi ly b u y p lo ts f rom p i ra ta developers. Thus the cos t o f l and d i d n o t appear t o b e a ser ious b a r r i e r t o par t ic ipa te i n t h i s process. (3 )

I n t h e pas t twen ty years b o t h p i ra ta developers a n d i nvade rs ensured a substant ia l s u p p l y o f l and f o r low income house bu i l de rs i n Medell in. T h e Munic ipal Planning o f f i ce estimated tha t between 1960 - 1982 some 33.000 dwel l ings were built in ne ighbourhoods wh ich have been c lassi f ied as p i r a t a a n d 27.000 u n i t s i n those where land was i l lega l ly occupied. T h a t t h i s popu lar hous ing process p roduced a number o f dwel l ings f a r supe r io r i n q u a n t i t y t h a n the un i t s sponsored and b u i l t b y var ious pub l i c housing agencies i n Medel l in does n o t s u r p r i s e us . What is important t o note, however, tha t t he location o f the popular sett lements w i th in the overal l u r b a n s t r u c t u r e tended to be b e t t e r t han tha t o f the low cost hous ing estates b u i l t b y the government, even if i t cou ld be a rgued tha t the s i te condi t ions

F I G U R E I

SEQUENCE O F S P A C E A P P R O P R I A T l O N

Lime

time

ACTORS OF DEVELOPaNT

S - Scate C - Coonuniry

P - P i r a u F - Family

M O R P H O L O C Y O F A N I N V A S I O N S I T E ( M A R I A C A N 0 1978 - 8 4 )

F I G U R E 3

M O R P H O L O C Y OF A P l R A T A S I T E ( A U R E S 1976 - 84 1

F I G U R E 4

L O C A T I O N O F U N A U T H O R I Z E D S E T T L E M E N T S A N D G O V E R N M E N T S P O N S O R E D H O U S I N G P R O J E C T S (1964-1984)

( topography) f o r popu lar housing were less favourable. (F ig . 4) .

I n the subsequent p a r t s o f t he paper we rev iew ou r research f ind ings about the consolidation process o f b o t h p i ra ta a n d invasion settlements. I n ou r v iew t h i s process i s underp inned b y fou r mechanisms :

- (a ) legit imisation, wh ich g radua l l y establishes the settlement ( i t s s i te and layout ) and the land tenure o f families w i t h i n the legal framework o f municipal p lann ing and administrat ion.

( b ) pub l ic investment, wh i ch gradua l ly increases pub l ic expend i tu re f o r i n f ras t ruc tu re and services in the location.

( c ) community investment: wh ich in the absence o f pub l ic investment, o r complementing it (maintenance) develops col lect ive faci l i t ies and enhances the organizat ional capaci ty o f residents.

( d ) family investment: wh ich accounts f o r t he progressive development o f housing u n i t s b y the residents.

These mechanisms can b e separated and descr ibed empirical ly, b u t the i r con t r i bu t i on t o the process o f consolidation cannot be p red i c ted theoretical ly. Rather, the process must be viewed as hav ing a synenergetic and con junc tura l effect, each re in forc ing , o r i n t he i r absence det rac t ing f rom the i11,pd~t o f the o ther . ( 4 )

T h e research mater ia l presented here i s d r a w n f rom 8 sett lements in Medellin, 3 o f wh ich were c lassi f ied b y the Munic ipal Planning Off ice as p i ra ta and 5 as invasione sites. (5 ) We estimate tha t together t h e y account f o r 10 percent o f t he housing stock developed i l legal ly in the c i t y since the 1960's. T h e oldest sett lement in o u r sample dates back to 1964, the most recent one was establ ished in 1980. From each sett lement 20 (or ig ina l ) p lo ts were d r a w n from a "representat ive" b lock (manzana) . Us ing the p lo t as a basic u n i t we asked what k i n d o f families l i ve on i t , when did they come, what d i d t hey b u y as an " e n t r y po in t " , what have they built, ove r how long, how d i d t hey f inance the i r hous ing t ransact ions, etc. Us ing the i r recollections we were able t o approximate the process o f p r i v a t e investment in the sett lement since i t s establishment, as well as the densi f icat ion process wh ich resu l ted f rom the f u r t h e r subd iv is ion o f p lots o r t he bu i l d i ng o f addi t ional u n i t s f o r sale o r ren t .

We s t r u c t u r e d the in terv iewed families i n to "classes" (F1 - F6) and created "housing classes" t o c lassi fy the dwel! ings in which they l i ved (HO-H6). We postulated tha t the family classes would cor respond t o housing classes i f the la t te r was bough t by the families f rom government agencies who b u i l d houses fo r low income target g roups. The except ions were the F1 and F2 g roups (who cou ld on ly l i ve i n ranchos o r pa r t i a l l y t rans formqd bu i l d i ng on unserv iced s i tes) , because these housing types ( H I , H2) were no t o f f e red b y the government. We assumed tha t these people would be e i ther completely outs ide -$he opt ions thd t the pub l i c housing de l i ve ry system can o f fe r o r a t best would be renters . T h i s "correspondence" between Family and Housing classes i s an important postulat ion i n the analysis. I f the aggregate re lat ionship between the Family and Housing classes is negat ive, families l i ve i n worse housing condit ions in the unauthor ized sett lements than they would i f t hey had access t o pub l ic housing, then we

could conclude tha t the popu la r hous ing process is infer ior t o the government sponsored hous ing.

- If, on the other hand , we find a b e t t e r aggregate C-elationship o u r conc lus ion wou ld b e tha t t he

~ o p u l a r housing process p r o v i d e s b e t t e r hous ing values than pub l i c housing. ( F i g u r e 5, 6 ) .

CONQUISTADORES

U S E S D E FAMILIAS m C€ M V l W D A S

I . . . . . . . . . . H 0 .i ,L . i o . so . i o . io . o ' io 40 i o i o ' loo *A

F I G U R E 5

N E G A T I V E R E L A T I O N S H I P BETWEEN F A M I L Y CLASSES A NO H O U S I N G C L A S S E S *

CLASES DE FAMIUAS CLLSES D E VlVlENDAS

. -.

PLAYON

C U S E S DE FAUIUAS CLASES OE V I V I E N D G

S. PABLO

F I G U R E 6

F I G U R E 7

T H E Q U A L I T Y O F H O U S I N G S T O C K I N P I R A T A (*) A N D I N V A S I O N (**) S E T T L E M E N T S (19841

(*) information aggregated for 3 settlements (**) information aggregated for 5 secclements

invas ion A p i s a t a

- RI and H2 ---- 83 . H&. H5

POSl T I VE RELA T I O N S H I P BETWEEN F A M I L Y CLASSES A N D H O U S I N G C L A S S E S * F I G U R E 8

L

D I S T R I B U T I O N O F H O U S I N G TYPES I N P I R A T A * o n l y f o r owne r occup ie r s A N D I N V A S I O N S E T T L E M E N T S

We beg in t o compare t h e (aggregate) hous ing stock i n t h e p i ra ta a n d invasione sett lements as o f 1984. (F igu re 7, 8 ) . It i s ev ident , t h a t p i ra tas tend to have a b e t t e r qua l i t y o f housing, par t ia l l y because o f t h e absence o f v e r y low qua l i ty she l te r (H1 and H2) .

However, t h i s aggregate p i c t u r e i s misleading. When we p lo t t h e hous ing m i x t u r e separately f o r each sett lement, and reg i s te r t h e in format ion o n the time scale ( locat ing t h e c u r r e n t hous ing m ix tu re a t t he po in t when t h e set t lement was establ ished), we see t h a t hous ing m i x t u r e changes dramat ical ly ove r time. T h e q u a l i t y o f housing is more s t r o n g l y re la ted t o t h e age o f t h e sett lement t han i t s development o r i g in . T h e hous ing m i x t u r e ( re f l ec t i ng the amount o f family investment in t h e set t lement) tends t o converge. (F igu re 8 ) .

The g r a p h s also conf i rm tha t i n i t i a l family investment in p i ra ta a n d invasiones sett lements i s substant ia l l y d i f fe rent . In Aures wh ich was establ ished in 1976 we observed t h a t on l y 25% o f t he hous ing s tock ' remained in H1 o r H2 stages by 1984, whereas i n Maria Cano, establ ished in 1978,'

F

75% o f t h e houses were s t i l l o f poor qua l i t y . I f we were t o t r u s t o u r l ine o f in terpo la t ion (a somewhat mechanical dev ice) we wou ld estimate tha t i t takes 8-10 years f o r people who s t a r t l i v i n g in invasiones s i tes t o catch up w i t h t h e housing qua l i t y mix t h a t character ises p i ra ta s i tes i n t h e f i r s t few years o f t h e i r existence.

The phenomenon o f s t r o n g i n i t i a l d i f f e rence a n d long te rm convergence o f hous ing q u a l i t y m ix could be expla ined i n a number o f d i f f e r e n t ways.

(a) Families i n invasione s i tes are poorer , a n d there fore i t takes them a longer time t o consolidate.

O v r data does no t p o i n t t o t h i s exp lanat ion consistent ly . Examining o n l y two most recent p i ra ta a n d invasione sett lements, Au res a n d Maria Cano t h e share o f people who ea rn a r o u n d minimum wage o r less is approximately t h e same (90% a n d 95% respec t i ve l y ) , a l though there i s about 30% o f people who a r e below t h e mininium wage level i n Maria Cano a n d non o f these t ypes o f families can be found i n Aures. B u t when we look a t t h e un iverse o f a l l sett lements, n o c lear p i c t u r e emerges wh ich wou ld substant ia te t h a t p i ra ta sett lements cons is ten t ly have a lower share o f poor people than invasione sett lements. (Tab le 1 )

( b ) lnvasione sites a re soon i n f i l t r a t e d by be t te r o f f families ( replacement) a n d these second wave families have b e t t e r capaci ty f o r hous ing improvement.

The re i s s t ronge r ind ica t ion tha t o v e r t ime t h e ropor t ion o f the lowest t h ree family categor ies h- F01 declines, b o t h i n p i ra ta a n d

invasione settlements. T h e two h ighes t income categories (F5 and F61 are missing i n t h e f i r s t 5-8 years o f the establ ishment o f t h e sett lements (again b o t h i n p i ra ta a n d invasion t y p e s ) , - b u t beg in t o appear later ( F i g u r e 9) . T h i s tendency suppor ts a more un iversa l observat ion, t h a t t he re is an i n f i l t r a t i on o f be t te r -o f f low income g roups i n these unauthor ized developments in t h e i r la te r stage o f consolidation. However, i t does no t expla in t h e in i t ia l l y poorer hous ing s tock i n t he invasione settlements, s ince the "gen t r i f i ca t i on " movement is p resent i n b o t h sett lement types.

P IRATA SETTLEMENT, i n i t i a l s tage o f consolidation.

P IRATA SETTLEMENT, i n i t i a l s tage o f consolidation.

%

TABLE l

Invasion:

Playon (1975) T 0 4 R

Los Councels (1971) T 0 R

Candelaria (1972) T 0 R

H a r l s C a n o (1978) T 0

C o l s l e ~ t a d o r i ~ (1980)

D l S T R l B U T l O N OF FAMILY TYPES I N PlRA TA AND INVASION SETTLEMENTS (7984)

4

-- 3 3 -- -

15 1 5

R - -

9 4 5

1 0

4

2 4 21 3

1 4 --

l 5 1 5

9 5

5 0

14

6 3 55 8

67 67 -- 65 60

5

6' 6 4

4 - -

28 6 3 6 2 4 4

4

1 0 10 --

21 17 4

5 5 --

l 8 18

4

-- --

8 8 -

--

-- -

4 4 --

8 8

-- ' --

-- 1 --

R E L A T I O N S H I P B E T W E E N F A M I L Y TYPES A N D H O U S I N G T Y P E S I N T H E E I G H T S E T T L E M E N T S

cAUNCES A U R E S

NUEVO8 CONWSTADORES SAN NARrtN DE PORRES

CLASES M F A H I L I U C U S L S DE VIVIENOAS

m Fb -

FIGURE 9

. D I S T R I B U T I O N OF F A M I L Y TYPES I N P I R A T A A N D I N V A S I O N S E T T L E M E N T S

m invasion A pirara

-F1, F2 and F3 ----F5 and F6

(C ) T h e t h i r d explanat ion invo lves the secu r i t y o f tenure .

A s we po in ted ou t b o t h p i ra ta and invasione sett lements are "i l legal" (unauthor ized) , but one i s obv ious ly more i l legal t h a n the o ther . In the p i ra ta s i tes families ac tua l ly b u y land, in invasiones they occupy it. T h e la t te r g r o u p n o t on ly ignores munic ipal p lann ing requirements but faces t h e poss ib i l i t y o f forced removals as landowners t r y t o reclaim t h e i r land. O u r data indicates a s t rong cor re la t ion between tenu re secu r i t y and i ~ o u s i n g q u a l i t y mix. In F igu re 10 we reproduce the d i s t r i b u t i o n o f hous ing a n d family classes i n a l l the e i g h t settlements. (6) I n t h e two recent invasione sites, Conquistadores and Maria Cano the ma jo r i t y o f families l i ve i n houses t h a t a re i n fe r i o r t o the t y p e we would expect them t o occupy. I n Aures, o n the o ther hand, o n l y 25% l i ve in poorer s t ruc tu res than expected, 5% has b e t t e r hous ing and 70% cons t ruc ted dwel l ings w h i c h cor respond to the i r family classes. Th i s s i tua t ion is rap id l y improv ing as t ime passes, qu i te dramat ical ly f o r invasione sites. In the- oldest invasione settlement in o u r sample (Playon) 60% o f the families l i v e in be t te r accommodation and 40% in the same qua l i t y . Roughly the same p r o p o r t i o n (59% - 41%) i s fbund in the oldest p i ra ta s i te, S. Pablo (F igu re 11) . T h u s t h e secur i ty o f t e n u r e appears t o be a s t rory ! d is incent ive t o i nves t in housing i n invasione neighbourhoods, but on ly fo r a s h o r t time, 2-5 years. I t i s t h i s t i m e lag which

accounts f o r the d i f f e rence between p i ra ta and invasione sett lements, a d i f f e rence wh ich rap id l y d iminishes in t h e subsequent years.

F I G U R E l 1

D I S T R I B U T I O N O F F A M I L I E S L1 V l N C I N "WORSEt1 A N D " B E T T E R " H O U S I N G U N I T S T H A N E X P E C T E D *

BETTER CONDITIONS

70 " "t

Yet, it is n o t v e r y c lear f rom o u r data how t h i s issue o f t e n u r e s e c u r i t y i s resolved. T h e process o f " l e g a l i ~ a t i o n ' ~ in Medel l in is a conlplicated one. O n t h e one h a n d a c q u i r i n g reg i s te red l and t i t l es t o t h e p lo t s ( a n d munic ipal approva l f o r the set t lement layout ) appears t o b e p rac t i ca l l y impossible. None o f t h e sett lements i n o u r sample has reached t h i s level o f legalization, a n d accord ing to subsequent i n q u i r y o n l y four unau tho r i zed sett lements in t h e c i t y (a l l p i ra ta developments dated be fo re 1950's) were accorded t h i s s ta tus up t i l l now. On t h e o ther h a n d the legal izat ion o f the s t r u c t u r e s i s a re la t ive ly easy process wh ich can mean e i the r t ha t the p lann ing

' agency " reg is ters" t he b u i l d i n g o r approves the b u i l d i n g standard. Reg is tered s t r u c t u r e s can b e se rv i ced b y the munic ipal i n f r a s t r u c t u r e agency ( w h i c h p rov ides water, e lec t r i c i t y a n d sewer ne tworks ) a n d hence the impor tant process o f p u b l i c investment can beg in . However, in many cases even more ten ta t i ve "recognit ions! ' cou ld increase the conf idence o f the families tha t t he i r set t lement w i l l n o t b e demolished. T h e organ izat ion o f res idents i n to the Juntas d e Accion Communal establ ishes a degree o f legi t imacy a n d access t o pol i t ical a n d munic ipal decis ion making, and so t h e designat ion o f the s i te as a sett lement by the Munic ipal Planning Depar tmen t cou ld amount t o a d e facto recogn i t ion .

While the aspect o f t enu re secu r i t y appeared to u s a c ruc ia l var iab le i n unders tand ing the development process o f t he unauthor ized

settlements, i den t i f y i ng s ing le even ts wh ich , decis ively change the tenu re cond i t i on p r o v e d t o

be a n elusive task. P lo t t i ng t h e l e n g t h o f t ime tha t it took for t he var ious sett lements t o ob ta in municipal r eg i s t ra t i on o r legal p rov i s i on o f

L in f ras t ruc tu re (as opposed t o t h e i l legal connections t h a t was developed by t h e families themselves) we cou ld n o t d iscover a n y "pa t te rn " . (F igu re 12). Instead o f assuming t h a t t enu re secu r i t y i s t i ed t o a s ing le event , it i s b e t t e r t o i n t e r p r e t it as a r e s u l t o f a pr5cess o f permanent negotiat ion. T h e object o f negot ia t ion fo r invasione s i tes i s t o remove t h e t h r e a t o f evict ion, a n d hence pos i t ion them in t h e l a n d market t o t he same category as p i ra ta set t lements - t h a t i s unse rv i ced p lo t s in t h e u r b a n

e r i he r . Later , b o t h p i ra ta a n d invasione w t s w i l l h a v 7 t o compete f o r pub l i c investment in in f ras t ruc tu re , a compet i t ion wh ich i s f ough t on t h e basis o f organizat ional s t r e n g t h , pol i t ical connections (pat ronage) , locational s i tua t ion i n re la t ion to t h e e x i s t i n g n e t w o r k o f serv ices as well as t h e topograph ic a n d s i t e condi t ions o f t h e neighbourhoods.

F I G U R E 12

L L ~ l ~ l ~ ~ O F L E G A L I S A T I O N A N D L E G A L S E R V I C E P R O V I S I O N (WA T E R , E L E C T R I C I T Y )

registrarion

ENERBIA

a m s O m I S 10

ACUEDUCTO

unauthorized supply or services

l e g a l supply of services

In the prev ious section we showed a genera l tendency of convergence between ,p i ra ta a n d invasione sites i n terms o f t h e q u a l i t y o f hous ing mix ture , a process wh ich i s u n d e r p i n n e d b y the equalization o f tenure s e c u r i t y a n d p u b l i c investment in in f ras t ruc tu re . In t h i s p a r t we w i l l elaborate on a complementary issue: d o t h e two sett lement types also converge as hous ing markets? What we have in m ind is no t t o analyze whether land and hous ing p r i ces tend t o equalize over time, but whether t he process o f ga in ing access t o (be t te r ) hous ing i s s imi lar , in b o t h sett lements.

F I G U R E 13

I N I T I A L " H O U S I N G T R A N S A C T I O N " A N D C U R R E N T H O U S I N G Q U A L I T Y (1984)

R A N M O

M " U . n .. .a H 0-7.

P U Y O N

In F igu re 13 we rep roduce two I1 t rans format ion diagrams", showing o n t h e l e f t h a n d s i d e t h e t ype o f hous ing class people acqu i red when moved t o t he sett lement and o n t h e right h a n d s ide t h e c u r r e n t hous ing q u a l i t y mix. These g r a p h s represent "hous ing improvement1' i n a n aggregate scale o f each sett lement.

Tak ing the sample as a -whole (8 set t lements) we observed t h a t about 75 pe rcen t o f t h e (owner /occup ier ) families i n t h e p i r a t a a n d 63 percent in invasione ne ighbourhoods acqu i red (bough t o r occupied) p lo t s when t h e y set t led. 9 and 6 percent o f t h e families bough t ranchos o r t rans i t iona l dwel l ings ( respec t i ve l y ) in t h e p i ra ta sett lements and 20 a n d 9 percent in invas ion sites. These hous ing t ypes (H1 a n d H21 represent v e r y minimal improvement a n d we can lump them together w i t h H 0 (p lo t ) d e s c r i b i n g t h e sett lement when the hous ing component i s a t HO, H1 a n d H2 level as essent ia l ly a t a land market stage. Viewed f rom t h i s ang le we can a r g u e t h a t t h e hous ing process in b o t h set t lements overwhelmingly s t a r t s f rom (un improved) land (90% f o r p i ra tas a n d 92% for invas iones) and there fore these popu la r ne ighbourhoods a r e essent ia l ly l and r a t h e r t han hous ing markets .

Th i s argument can b e f u r t h e r s u p p o r t e d b y analysing the d i s t r i b u t i o n o f hous ing improvements t a k i n g t h e in i t ia l acqu i s i t i on o f hous ing qua l i t y as t h e basis ( F i g u r e 14) . In t h e uppe r end o f t he scale, those few famil ies who bough t H4 and H5 houses did n o t r e p o r t any addi t ional improvement, in t h e lower e n d t h e scale .

F I G U R E 14 F I G U R E 15

RELA T l O N S H l P BETWEEN IN1 T l A L T R A N S A C T I O N AND SUBSEQUENT I M P R O V E M E N T

"l *I "S W* M 5 W

Improvement after purchasing H0

Improvement after purchasing H2

Improwement after p:.-<basing H4

I Yn ....a* -7.2 .¶

0 *l M ¶ l,, *4- *S l,.

Improvement after purchasing H1

Improvement after purchasing H3

improvement after purchasing H5

( H 0 and H I ) subsequent improvements a re b o t h substant ive and var ied.

However, these aggregate f i gu res t a k e a d i f f e r e n t dimension when we i nvoke again t h e time scale. In older settlements t he re is a g radua l decl ine o f families who repor ted t h a t they s ta r ted t h e i r housing process f rom a vacant p l o t o r acqu i re a simple ( H I , H2) s t ruc tu re . Correspondingly t ransact ions wh ich i nvo l ve more substant ia l dwell ings (H3, H4, H51 increase. (F igu re 15). Even more apparent i s t h e t ransformat ion from land t o hous ing market when we analyse the re la t ionsh ip between t h e t ransact ions in f i ve y e a r i n te rva l s a f t e r t h e establishment o f the set t lement. In t h e f i r s t f i v e years a l l o f the famil ies repo r ted tha t t h e y bought loccup ied land. Pu re l y l and t ransact ions dominate the second f i ve years in p i ra ta neighbourhoods, but in invasione s i tes some s ign i f i cant house b u y i n g a c t i v i t y appears. In the subsequent f i ve year i n t e r v a l ( 1 1-1 5 , 16-20) l and transactions decline, p resumably because o f increasing densities. S t i l l , a f t e r twen ty years o f settlement consolidation some 40-60 percent o f families enter these neighbourhoods as l and buye rs ( o f p lots wh ich a r e f u r t h e r subd i v ided ) aind beg in the house b u i l d i n g process. ( F i g u r e 16 1

" H O U S I N G T R A N S A C T I O N S N A T T H E TIME F A M I L I E S M O V E D T O T H E S E T T L E M E N T

cl invaslon A pirata

HO. Hi. HZ ---- H3. H 4 . H5

Another aspect o f t h e g radua l t ransformat ion o f unauthor ised sett lements f rom land t o hous ing markets is t h e appearance o f t h e ren ta l hous ing stock. We f o u n d rooms and apartments f o r r e n t in a n y s ign i f i cant degree only. i n o lder sett lements (S. Pablo 25%. S. M a r t i n 26%. Playon 20%) new neighbourhopds have o n l y 5-10% ren ta l un i ts .

However, when we d i s r e g a r d t h e t ime var iab le (new o r o l d ne ighbourhoods) no s ign i f i cant d i f fe rence cou ld b e found between p i ra ta and invasione sites.

It appears t o u s tha t r e n t a l u n i t s a re among t h e be t te r hous ing categor ies (H3, H 4 , H51 and hence the level o f fami ly investment must reach a re la t ive ly h i g h level in t h e sett lement f o r t h i s t y p e o f hous ing solut ion t o be present. Owners must compete w i t h t he ren ta l stock in t h e i nne r c i t y and o the r well consol idated neighbourhoods.

In conc lud ing we ra ise two observat ions. F i r s t t ha t in Medel l in invasione a n d p i ra ta neighbourhoods may pose d i f f e ren t p rac t i ca l problems o f t h e p lann ing f o r the i r improvement (de f i n i t i on o f site, i nse r t i on o f i n f r a s t r u c t u r e and social fac i l i t ies, legal izat ion), b u t as hous in

_Iq rocesses t h e y e x h i b i t s t r o n g s imi lar i t ies a te r e_f_ the i r s t few years o f i n i t i a l land occupation. In fact, t he tools o f neighbourhood improvement ( legal recogn i t ion and pub l i c investment) ac t as a power fu l ca ta l ys t t o i n teg ra te these areas i n t he main stream of low income hous ing ac t iv i t ies i n t he c i t y .

FIGURE 16

RELA TIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PERIOD OF ENTERING THE SETTLEMENT (AFTER ITS

- IN IT IAL ESTABLISHMENT) AND THE TYPE OF HOUSING TRANSACTION

. invasion A pirata

Notes

1 . Much of the information for wr i t ing this paper comes from a research study carr ied out by PE VAL i n 1984. Mejoramiento Barr io l en Medellin en 10s ult imo 20 onos, 1964-1984. The research was coordinated b y Arango, G., Baross, P., Coupe, F., Mesa, N., and Gonzalez, D . I l lustrations are reproduced f ~ o m the or iginal repor t .

2. There ore two types of invasions, organized when a large number of families plan the land occupation in advance, and unorganized, when the process is a more gradual encroachment on the invaded property.

3. This information is provided by Coupe, F . , and Noorduiin, A. from their cu r ren t investigation of sales record of the largest pirota developer i n Medellin.

4. We note, here that there is a generally held (simplistic) view which argues for a r ig id , sequential relationship among these mechanisms, legitimization leaaing to public investment, leading to private investment, leading to collective investment.

5. In the paper these setilements wi l l - be referred to as

Son Pablo (1964) (pirato) : 1300 dwellings San Martin ( 1 968) (p i ra ta) : 300 dwellings A ures (1 976) (p i ra ta) : 300 dwellings E lP layon (1971) (invas!on): 750 d~uel l iogs Los Caunces (19711 (invosion): 520 dwellings La Candelaria (1 972) (invasion) : 370 dwellings Maria Cano ( 1 978) (invasionj : 220 dwellings Nuevos (1 980) (invasion) : 800 dwellings Conquistadores

6. Here the data is selected for owner-occupiers - transactions of 110. H I . 112 only. ---- transactions of H3. H4, H5

Second, t h a t t he c u r r e n t c r i t i c ism o f t h e "marx is t " school on T u r n e r ' s w r i t i ngs about t he market charac ter o f low income hous ing stock i s l a rge l y misplaced. F o r decades v e r y l i t t l e - exchange o f houses i s occur r ing , people in low income sett lements buy land and b u i l d houses r a t h e r t h a n engage in house transactions. T h e market charac ter o f low income hous ing i s s t rongest in i t s land component. Because even in late stages o f consol idat ion o f sett lements most new families s t i l l buy l and .as the e n t r y acqu is i t ion f o r se t t l ing . t h e market in tegra t ion o f popu lar hous ing shou ld b e expla ined t h r o u g h t h e t rans i t i on f rom use values t o exchange values o f t h e land component and n o t t he dwel l ing component. T h e l a t t e r becomes a s ign i f i cant market fea ture o f popu lar hous ing when ren ta l accommodation appears as a s ign i f i cant aspect o f p r i v a t e ( fami ly ) investment in the settlements.

PAUL BAROSS, Inst i tu te for Housing Studies, P.O. Box 20718, 3001 JA Rotterdam, The Netherlands

NORA MESA, - Centro de Estudios del Hobitat Popular, Facultad de Arquitectura, Universidod Nacional Apartado Aereo 1779, Medellin, Colombia.