The Historical Development of Urban Informality
Alejandro de Castro Mazarro (ad2549)
Seminar
Fridays 9-11am, 412 Avery
Office Hours
Fridays 2-6pm, by appointment
Description
Slums, as considered by United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals, are the physical
manifestation of urban problems related to poverty and/or inequality. Yet, little effort has been
placed on the historical sequence of urban planning programs and design practices that
emerged in the 19th Century and have since evolved in methods and practices to address the
challenges of informality. This lack of emphasis in historical precedents – in their success and
failures – has weakened the consistency of some contemporary urban programs, which are
often viewed as epitomes of the Modernist Project’s aim to House the Masses. Furthermore, the
very controversies around the characterization of slums and informal settlements question how
spatial practices can address social problems.
This seminar will portray a historical sequence of urban planning and design programs, and
architectural projects developed at precarious settlements. Policies and programs include
eviction laws; Poor Laws in (Ireland and UK); Housing Acts (US), Social Housing (Brazil,
Germany, Mexico, and Spain); Land titling (Latin America); Incremental Housing (Peru and
Chile); urban upgrading (Brazil, India, Indonesia, Kenya and Venezuela); and building
rehabilitation (Spain, Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Canada.) The seminar will propose the
aforementioned sequence as suitable to encompass the physical and social nature of informal
settlements. Also, it will link the history of urban planning with real estate, politics, and migration
events to question the characterization of definitions such as “informality,” “housing deficit,”
“sub-standard living,” or “slums.” The seminar aims to build a thread of historical precedents that
link urban informality with mainstream urban planning and design history; and seeks defining the
role of spatial strategies in proposing accurate solutions to urban poverty and inequality.
Rationale
This seminar departs from the epistemological premise that urban projects and programs
responding to informality are arguments structured similarly to research projects, in the
sequence:
Premises
Existing Urban Problem
Hypothesis
Urban Program Design and Implementation
Thesis
Program Assessment
This characterization is intended to allow students not only to learn about a particular policy or
design proposal but most importantly, to problematize the epistemological structure of urban
programs. The analysis of cases during the semester will go beyond the soft information that
has been published, to face the hard facts that reveal structural conditions of those urban
problems and programs - and which that are not fully evident in self-sponsored publications.
Sessions
I Problems
1 Introduction
In this class the instructor will present the outline of the seminar, and will discuss about its
overall theoretical framework.
2 The Problem of Demarcation
“What are slums?” remains a controversial and disputed question. During this session we will
review the different characterizations of this concept, and the assumptions that these terms
carry.
II Slums
3 The Great Transformation: from the English Poor Laws to the US Housing Reform
This class will explain the origins of slums in 19th century Great Britain, linking the rural
enclosure laws with the urban overcrowding of its industrial cities. It will also look at two early
design-related solutions to respond to slums: model houses (in the UK) and tenements (in the
US). It will explore two conceptual frameworks for understanding slums as physical and social
issues: the one situating its cause as poverty, and another situating it in inequality.
4 Addressing Slums’ Urban Scale: Urban Renewal Programs in the UK & US
This session will situate the main slum clearance strategies produced during the first half of the
20th century in the US and the UK. It will also look at other design and planning strategies
existing at that time: neighborhood rehabilitation, building renovation and slum prevention as
alternative options to clearance. Finally, we will look at the dispute between the public and
private agencies to take control over the debate on slums.
5 The Paradox of Squatting and Segregation at Model Housing Developments
US federalized slum clearance policies during the 1940s linked eviction and redevelopment, and
lead to fully subsidized social housing developments that carry with the figure of the Master
Plan. During this session we will overview some of the most significant projects of this period, as
well as some drawbacks that lead to abandonment and squatting of these formally built
settlements.
III Squatting
6 Shelter in an Urbanizing World: Housing and Habitat from the CIAM to the UN
This class will discuss the shift in problems, strategies, and professional models that underwent
at the aftermath of the WWII, when the problem of human settlements expanded from the
developed to the developing world. At this time, the dispute between re-discovered self-help
housing by John Turner, and the modernist architecture and planning of the CIAM conferences,
lead the meetings and negotiations that lead to the creation of United Nations Habitat in 1976.
7 The Implementation of the Enabling Strategies
In the early 1970s the World Bank launched the “sites and services” program, a financing
product to urbanize self-help like, poor areas at developing countries. In our class we will look at
some instances of this program in Indonesia and India, and will discuss about the consequences
of internationalizing, in political and economic terms, the discussions and proposals about
shelter.
8 The Third Sectors: From Housing Provision to the Right to the City
Particularly since the HABITAT I conference, pro-shelter international organizations have spread
to respond to housing and humanitarian crisis, yet it is unclear their overarching significance to
resolve some of the root causes of slums beyond the provision of charitable support. In contrast,
other grassroots and international institutions have advocated for the right to the city and the
enactment of participatory, place-making processes. In class we will look at these two modes of
interpreting citizenship and in their outcomes, and will analyze the disjunction between different
forms of understanding the role of the “Third Sector” in regards to slums and squatter
settlements.
IV Informality
9 Land Titling and Regularization
Despite public and third-sector efforts, the increasing growth of informal settlements lead in the
late 1970s to the popularization of strategies that legalize and incorporate slum dwellers into
formal city fabrics. In this class we will look at the controversial proposal made by Hernando de
Soto, and will look at other examples of financial and legal action that attempt to integrate formal
and informal city fabrics.
10 Physical Upgrading
Starting in the late 1970s, slum upgrading programs with a strong physical, visible component,
spread from Taiwan to Brazil to Colombia, and reflect the relevance of the urban design physical
approach to city making. In class we will look at some of these projects, and analyze their
outcomes and assumptions. We will also discuss the concept and implementation of recent
“integral projects” developed worldwide.
V Current Issues
11 The Sustainable Turn
Slums and their consequent reactions have not fully explored the incidence of sustainability in
urban policy making and design standards. In this session we will look at some perspectives
analyzing the environmental consequences of formal urbanization, and the controversies and
potentials of informal settlements vis-à-vis sustainable urban development.
13 The representation of the social
The last class of the semester will deepen on the complexities of the production of design and
planning knowledge. The topics discussed will include the aesthetics of poverty in mass media,
and the embedding of uncharted rhetoric into visual argumentation.
Class Paper During the semester you will evaluate if and how implemented urban programs at slums
respond to the social and physical urban problems that they address. To do so, you will first
need to identify the set of urban problems that are stated and presumed in the program of study,
to then evaluate how the design provides a solution to that problem.
The final outcome of this evaluation will be a paper, and encompasses the following
deliverables:
A Bibliography Background Research
This list of bibliography that is related to your case study is an important base for the
development of your research paper during the rest of the semester. It will be expected that you
search for bibliography not only online, but also through Columbia University libraries. After your
submission, the instructor will suggest additional sources of information or, if sources are too
scarce, adapting your paper topic to them.
B Short Class Presentations (2)
During the semester you will make two short presentations (7’) related to your case study:
- At the first one you will conceptualize the urban problem that has been declared or presumed at
your case study
- At the second one you will describe one concrete outcome that the urban program under study
uses as a solution.
The presentations are an effort of synthesis that require to sharply describe, through words and
visuals, the evidences to:
WHAT is the problem/solution that you identify
WHEN has the problem/solution occurred
WHERE has the problem/solution occurred
HOW is the problem/solution being characterized
WHO suffers/solves the problems
WHY has the problem/response occurred
C Midterm Progress Report
This document is an outline of the argument that you are preparing for your final paper. It should
schematically describe and analyze the problems and solutions embedded in your case study.
Additionally, your report should outline a tentative assessment of the program, vis-à-vis the
problem identified.
While there is no predetermined length established for your midterm progress report, it will need
to include graphic evidence (photos, plans, sections, renderings, tables, diagrams, etc) of the
program that you are evaluating. In this sense it is important that the relevance of the image is
explicated in the text, and that the size that the size and quality of images allow easily
understanding its relevant components.
D Final Paper
Your final paper will use your research findings to formulate your own assessment of an urban
program dealing with slums, and provide suggestions for its improvement. Final papers should
be at least 3000 words. (Arial 11pt, line spacing 1.5) and must include illustrations (diagrams,
drawings, photos, charts, texts, tables) at the right size and quality; they should be sent by
email.
Your paper will be evaluated based on the use of a clear structure; a convincing argument with
warranted conclusions; and correct and appropriate referencing. For additional information and
suggestions about your paper and urban programs to choose, please read the “Evaluation
Layout” and “Case Studies” below; and feel free to ask me.
Participation In addition to paper requirements, participation in class discussions will be evaluated. Indeed,
class discussions are the base of our seminar.
E Readings
Each Thursday by 8pm before class, students will upload to Canvas at least one question or
comment addressing the discussion created by assigned readings. The student(s) leading that
week's class discussion will review the comments made by their peers and use them, along with
class readings, as the basis for class discussion; this will include responding to questions posted
on Courseworks and adding new questions raised by the comments. To upload questions and
comments, please go to the "Discussion Board" label in Courseworks. There, click "Start a New
Conversation" or "Reply to Initial Message" on the week label on discussion.
F Punctuality
Please arrive sharp in time to class. Punctuality is not just required to cover all instructional
materials, but also shows consideration to professor and peers.
G Office Hours
Students are encouraged to attend office hours at least twice during the semester to discuss the
midterm progress report and the final paper. These one-to-one sessions intend to help you
structuring your argument, finding the right bibliography, and commenting your midterm report
progress.
Grading 20% Participation, Readings & Punctuality
20% Class presentations (2)
20% Bibliographical Research + Midterm Progress Report
40% Final Research Paper
Schedule
Each session will be divided in three or four parts:
30’ Instructor introduces the topic of the class
20-40’ Students present their ongoing research (7’ each)
40’ Students and instructor lead a group discussion about the readings assigned for class, with Q&A
During the semester, we will also have:
- Two guest speakers presenting in class
- Two to three guest speakers presenting during the lunch break. In the first and second week of
the semester we will discuss the class availability to attend these meetings.
Below, please find a tentative list of our class deadlines and activities:
W01
W02
W03
W04
W05
W06
W07
W08
W09
W10
W11
W13
W14
Date Student Presentations Deadlines
Guests / Visits
09/09
09/16______________________________________________________________
__
09/21
Choice of Case Study
09/23 2 (Problems) __________________________________________________
__
09/28
Tenement Museum (Opt.)
09/30 4 (Problems) __________________________________________________
__
10/05
Annotated Bibliography
10/07 4 (Problems) ____________________________________________ __
__
10/14 2 (Problems)
Francesco Rossini
10/21 4 (Problems) ______________________________________________
__
10/26
Midterm Progress Report
10/28 4 (Programs) ________________________________________________
__
11/04 4 (Programs)
11/11 4 (Programs) ________________________________________________
__
IDB, Washington DC (TBC)
11/18 4 (Programs) __________________________________________
________
12/02
12/09___________________ Final Report / Paper_______________________
_
Case Studies (Suggested, list not comprehensive)
Workhouses, the Building Reform and Slum Clearance 1800s
Parsontown workhouse
The Hull House (working house), Chicago
Dumbbell Housing tenement competition
New York State Tenement House Act of 1901
Clearance Plan, Kowloon City, Hong-Kong, 1990s
Slum Clearance and Urban Renewal, 1930s-1960s
First Houses, NYCHA, 1930s
Harlem River Houses
The Williamsburg Houses, Brooklyn
Queensbridge Houses, NYC
Neighborhood Gardens, St. Louis, 1950s
Pruitt-Igoe Housing Development, St. Louis
Cabrini-Green Housing Project, Chicago
The Magnolia Projects, St. Louis
Robert Taylor Homes, Chicago
Self-Help and Mutual-Help
Architecture for Humanity early projects
UN PREVI Competition, Lima
UN Tondo Competition, Philippines
Kampung Improvement Programme (KIP I, II, and III), Indonesia
Housing Micro-Loans, various locations
World Bank Site and Services Programs
Slum and Urban Upgrading
Slum Network in Indore, India, 1980s
Favela Bairro & Morar Carioca Programs, Rio de Janeiro.
Demetre Anastassaskis, Housing in Nova Maré, Rio de Janeiro
Urbanização de Favelas, São Paulo
Edson Elito, Housing Block in Paraisópolis, São Paulo
Praca Cantao, Favela Painting Project, Rio de Janeiro
Urban Think-Tank: Metro Cable in Caracas
Kibera-Soweto pilot project, Kenyan Slum Upgrading Programme
Metrocable Urban Think-Tank, Caracas
Giancarlo Mazzanti: Biblioteca Parque España, Medellin
Renovation and other Programs
Programa Novas Alternativas (Brazil-Present)
Slum redevelopment project & Recycling Program (Dharavi), 2000s
Programa Mananciais (São Paulo)
Program Renova Centro (São Paulo)
Micasa, Progressive VOnstruction of Low-Income families, Peru
Incremental Project in Iquique, Elemental, Chile
Minha casa, Minha vida Mass Housing Program, Brazil
UPP’s unidades policiais de pacificacao, Brazil
Mapping and upgrading process in Mathare, Nairobi
INFONAVIT Mass Mexican Housing
Carriere Centrale housing development, Casablanca
Readings
W01
09/09 Introduction
In class
W02
Jauregui, Jorge Mario (2011) Articulating the Broken City and Society
09/16 The Problem of Demarcation
Required Gilbert, Alan (2007) The Return of the Slum: Does Language Matter?
Roy, Ananya (2005) Urban Informality: Toward and Epistemology of Planning
UN-HABITAT (2003) The Challenge of Slums: Global Report on Human Settlements (Browse, especially Ch. 2 & 3)
Further Ward, Peter (1976) The Squatter Settlement as Slum or Housing Solution: Evidence from Mexico City
Arabindoo, Puspha (2011) Rhetoric of the slum
Rao, Vyjayanthi (2010) Slum as Theory
Stokes, Charles (1962) A Theory of Slums
W03
09/23 The Great Transformation
Required Hall, Peter (2002) Cities of Tomorrow (Chapter 2: The City of Dreadful Night)
Engels, Friedrich (1873) The Housing Question - Part 1
Riis, Jacob A. (1890) How the Other Half Lives: Studies among the tenements of New York (Browse Ch 1, 24 & 26)
Further Pevsner, Nicolas (1943) Model houses for the labouring class
Polanyi, Karl (2001) The great transformation: The political and economic origins of our time. (Chapter 3)
Adams, Jane (1910) Twenty Years at Hull House (Chapter 6: Subjective Necessity for Social Settlements)
Peterson, Jon (1979) The Impact of Sanitary Reform upon American Urban Planning 1840-1890
Wohl, Anthony (1977) The Eternal Slum (Chapter 1: Terra Incognita)
Engels, Frederik (1845) The Condition of the Working Class in England (Chapter: Great Towns)
Nientied & Van Linden (1983) Limits of Engels’ “The Housing Question” for the explanation of 3rd World slum upgrading
W04
09/30 Clearance
Required Abercrombie, Patrick (1935) Slum Clearance and Planning
Architectural Forum (1950) What can you do with an old building? (Special issue)
Birch, Eugenie (1999) The Housing and Slum Clearance Act and its effects in the urban planning profession
Further (1935) Slum Clearance Housing Proposal, District no.5, Manhattan
Andrew, Thomas (1920) Is it advisable to remodel slum tenements?
(1948) Private Slum Redevelopment Defeats Public Housing
Bach, Ira J. (1956) The Key to Slum Prevention
Larson, Albert A O (1944) Slum Prevention
Holden, Arthur (1932) Facing Realities in Slum Clearance
Yelling, James A (1982) London County Council Slum Clearance Policies, 1889‐1907
(1958) Multi unit licensing
Parker, William Stanley (1935) What do slums cost? facts uncovered in a Boston survey
Platt, Charles C (1947) Overall plan for slum redemption
(1952) Private slum redevelopment program defeats public housing
Westlake, Aubrey (1944) Scorched Earth Policy
W05
10/07 Blight, again
Required Moses, Robert (1942) What happened to Haussman?
Bristol, Katharine (1991) The Pruitt-Igoe myth
Turetsky, Doug (1990) Rebels with a cause?
Further (Browse) Chronopoulos, T (2014) Robert Moses and the Visual Dimension of Physical Disorder
(1952) The Philadelphia cure, clearing slums with pencillin, not surgery
(1951) Slum surgery in St.Louis
Keay, Lancelot Herman (1935) The redevelopment of central areas
Breger, G. (1967) The concept and causes of urban blight
Seeley, John (1959) The Slum: Its Nature, Use, and Users
(1953) House & Home, special number dedicated to decaying houses
(1954) Baruch houses - $30,000,000 worth of slum clearance for New York City
(1967) Rebuilding the slums - an interview with Senator Robert Kennedy
(1950) Chicago redevelops
Foley, Mary Mix (1952) What is urban redevelopment?
Haar, Charles (1968) Transit and the ghetto
Hedlund, Nevin (1986) Instant Slum
Herrold, George H (1935) Obsolescence in Cities
Kearns, Kevin C (1979) Inner urban squatters London
Kearns, Kevin (1980) Urban Squatters increase in London
Owings, Nathaniel Alexander (1949) Chicago's Slum Clearance Program
Pred, Allan (1964) The esthetic slum
Roche, Fred (1975) A place to live in Britain
Twichel, Allan (1945) A Yardstick of Housing Needs
Vergara, Camilo José (1992) Take a Good Look - The New American Ghetto
W06
10/14 Towards the Chart of the Habitat
Required Turner, John (1963) Dwelling Resources in Latin America
CIAM (1933) Athens Chart (Chapter II: The Prevailing Conditions of the Cities)
Further
W07
Rudofsky, Bernard (1965) Architecture without architects: a short introduction to non‐pedigreed architecture (Browse)
UN-HABITAT (1976) Vancouver Conference
Ekistics (1976) Special Number on the Habitat conference
Ward, Peter M. (2012) Self-Help Housing Ideas and Practice in the Americas
Equipo Arquitectura (2007). El Tiempo Construye! Time Builds! (Introduction)
AD (1970) PREVI Lima Low Cost Housing
Architecture + Design (1986) Special Number on “Shelter for the Homeless”
Andrews, Christie & Martin (1973) Squatters and the evolution of a lifestyle
Bhatt, Vikram (1986) Understanding Slums the Use of Public Space
Celik, Zeynep (2003) Learning from the Bidonville
Nientied, Peter (1984) Redeveloping Karachi
Payne, Geoffrey (1973) Functions of Informality
Perez de Arce, Rodrigo - Lima as lived
Popham, Peter (1993) Kowloon - City of darkness
Seelig & Goldberg (1976) How Habitat can reconcile the Have and Have-nots
Turner, John F. C. (1968) The Squatter Settlement: An Architecture that Works
Turner, John (1968) The barriada movement
Turner, John (1976) Approaches to Government Sponsored Housing
10/21 Housing: From Site to Sector
Required Cohen, Michael A. (2015) Evaluating Impact without Evidence
Devas, Nick (1981) Indonesia's Kampung Improvement Program - An Evaluative Case Study
Umeh, J A (1972) Economics and Politics of African slums
Further (Ch2) Bouillon, Cesar (2012) Room for Development
Buckley, R M. & Kalarickal, J, eds. (2006) Thirty years of World Bank shelter lending: what have we learned? (excerpts
Caminos, Horacio and Reinhard Goethert (1978) Urbanization Primer
UN-Habitat (2008) Improving Slum Conditions through Innovative Financing
Accion Internacional (2007) Four approaches to housing finance
Cohen, Michael (1986) Lessons from World Bank
(1989) Slum Networking in Indore City
Bangunan, Masalah (1977) Integrated approach for improving slums in Indonesia
World Bank (1995) The Legacy of Kampung Improvement Program
Habraken, N. John (1961) Supports, an Alternative to Mass Housing
W08
10/28 The Third Sectors
Required Harvey, David (2008) The Right to the City
Obeng-Odoom, F (2009) Has the Habitat for Humanity Housing Scheme achieved its goals? A Ghanian case study
Architecture For Humanity (2006) Design Like You Give a Damn: Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crises
Patel, Sheila (2001) Slum Dwellers International, from Foundations to Treetrops
Further Des McConaghy (1972) The Limitations of Advocacy
Castells, Manuel (1984) The City and The Grassroots: A Cross-Cultural Theory of Urban Social Movements (Excerpts)
Habitat for Humanity (2008) The Forum
IFMR (2007) A Report of Low Income Housing in India
Lauria, Donald (1990) Planning in Squatter Settlements: an interview with a community leader
Mahmud, Shihabuddin (2003) Women and Income generation in Dhaka Bustees
W09
11/04 Regularization
Required De Soto, Hernando (2002), The Mystery of Capital (Public Presentation)
Bromley, Ray (2004) Why de Soto's Mistery of Capital Cannot Be Solved
Boonyabancha, Somsook (1986) Land Sharing an alternative to slum eviction in Bangkok
(Browse) Fernandes, Edesio (2011) Regularization of Informal Settlements in Latin America
Further Payne, Geoffrey (2009) The Limits of Land Titling and Home Ownership
Angel, Shlomo (1989) Bangkok Slum lands
Collins, T (1991) Legalization of Squatter Settlements in Istanbul
Ferguson, B (2003) Housing microfinance a key to improving habitat and the sustainability of microfinance institutions
Lefevre, Henry (1996) The Right to the City
W10
11/11 Physical Upgrading
Required Werlin, Herbert (1999) The Slum Upgrading Myth
De Mello, Fernando (2011) Filling the Voids
Greene & Rojas (2008) Incremental Construction a Strategy to Facilitate Access to Housing
(Browse) SEHAB (2009) Slum upgrading up close
Further Wamucii, Priscilla (2011) Walking the Extra Mile: Navigating Slum Identities through Social Activism in Mathare, Kenya
Ekistics (1990) Social Indicators for Slum Upgrading Dhaka
Aravena, Alejandro (2011) Elemental A Do Tank
Banerjee & Verma (1994) Three Indian Upgradable Plots
CIVIS (2010) The Case for Incremental Housing
Marcano, Luis (2008) An Impact Evaluation of Chile's Progressive Housing Program
Montaner, Josep Maria (1992) The Barcelona Model
UN-Habitat (2010) São Paulo a tale of two cities
Mathey, Kosta (1978) Program of Alagados
Van Horen, Basil (2000) Informal Settlement Upgrading: Bridging the Gap between the De Facto and the De Jure
W11
11/18 The Sustainable Turn
Required Harvey, David (1998) What’s Green and Makes the Environment go Round?
Werthmann, Christian (2008) Environmental and Informal Urbanism: A Comparison
Ribeiro, Gustavo (1997) Ecological approach to the study of shantytowns
Further Anand & Thimmaiya (2004) Indigenous Knowledge Systems for sustainability
Martin, R J, (1969) The ecology of a squatter settlement
Ozsoy, Ahsen (1994) Environmental quality problems in informal settlements
Stokols, Daniel & Pérez Lejano, Raul (2013) Social ecology, sustainability, and economics
W12
11/25 Thanksgiving Break: No Class
W13
12/02 The Representation of the Social
Required Koolhaas, Rem (2001) Lagos
Brenner, Neil (2014) The Urban Age in Question
Del Real, Patricio (2008) Slums Do Stink
Pieterse, Edgar (2010) Filling the Void - Towards and Agenda for Action on African Urbanization
Further Sassen, Saskia (2012) Beyond Inequality: Expulsions
Yiftachel, Oren (2009) Theoretical Notes on ‘Gray Cities’: The Coming of Urban Apartheid?
Throgmorton, James (2003) Planning as Persuasive Storytelling
Caldeira, Teresa (1996) Fortified Enclaves: The New Urban Segregation
Zebardast, Esfandiar (2006) The Marginalization of the Urban Poor
Marjetica, Potrc (2005) Caracas Case Study The Case of the Informal City
Cameron, Kristi (2001) Living on the Fringes (on Marjetica's Exhibition)
Perlman, Janice (2002) Marginality from myth to reality in Rio de Janeiro
Harvey, David - Accumulation by Dispossession
Doron, Gil (2000) Lost Zones