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Illegal Housing in Medellín: Autoconstruction and the Materiality of Hope.
- Source :
-
Latin American Politics & Society . Nov2022, Vol. 64 Issue 4, p94-118. 25p. - Publication Year :
- 2022
-
Abstract
- Drawing on ethnographic research in El Oasis, a highly precarious self-built settlement in Medellín, Colombia, this article examines the illegal practice of autoconstruction as a material expression of hope. It focuses on the multilayered, symbolic meaning of self-built housing, as it represents the pursuit of dignity, permanence, and agency—as opposed to poverty, uncertainty, and lack of agency—and an active and material form of hoping for a better future in the city. The state plays an ambiguous role in residents' perspectives, who conceive of it, simultaneously, as a threat to and a guarantor of their future in the city. This ambiguity becomes materialized in the physical form of residents' self-built housing, as residents either embrace or refrain from making improvements to their houses in response to shifting perceptions about the state's intentions regarding the future of the settlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- *HOUSING
*ETHNOLOGY research
*HOPE
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1531426X
- Volume :
- 64
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Latin American Politics & Society
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 161117621
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1017/lap.2022.31