Housing rehabilitation for cross-generational use value: insights from multi-household dwelling culture in Lima and Guayaquil

• In Event: Housing & Urban Development Imperatives: Towards HABITAT III 2016

Abstract

Three to five decades of neighborhood densification in Latin American self-help settlements has resulted in 3 to 4 generations frequently sharing their home space. An array of spatial arrangements are articulated by means of home subdivisions and extensions in order to accommodate succeeding generations. Home sharing often leads to creative solutions, but nonetheless can also result in conflicts over space and its uses. While pioneer homes have an ongoing use value for 2nd and 3rd generation users, the potential for densification of existing urban dwellings is rarely considered by existing housing policies. While a significant amount of multi-household dwellings has evolved incrementally in relative alignment with needs, uses and possibilities, the lack of support and technical assistance is impacting on the ways in which dwelling densification may be realized to accommodate shifting aspirations and arrangements.

Grounded in intensive case studies from Lima and Guayaquil, this contribution documents key trends in multi-household arrangements with a focus on 2nd and 3rd generation perspectives and needs. The study contributes to a critical and much-needed rethinking of the current policy agenda in terms of housing rehabilitation in order to sustainably orchestrate cross-generational use value in consolidated settlements

Author

• Olga Peek, KU Leuven / Universidad de Guayaquil