Citation

Gilbert A. World Dev. 1981; 9(7): 657-678.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1981, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/0305-750X(81)90069-3

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In Bogotá the poor purchase the land on which they build their homes; in Valencia they invade public and private land. Why are there such different attitudes on the part of the state in the two cities? Why indeed do the local authorities discourage land invasion in Bogotá but permit illegal subdivisions, while in Valencia invasion settlements aresometimes positively encouraged and usually serviced? Does the difference lie in the local political situations, in the nature of the land market, in the planning or legislative framework or in the attitudes of the poor? Whatever the exact cause one fact remains clear; both mechanisms provide the poor with sufficient land to maintain political stability and to prevent incursions into the housing areas of the rich. Such outcomes are encouraged by the policies of the local service and planning agencies. So successful are these mechanisms indeed, that rather than providing a threat to the political and economic system, invasions and pirate urbanizations actively support it.