Learning from informal settlements : the case of Guayaquil
(2025)- Abstract
- Informal settlements often appear chaotic, seeming perhaps to have emerged without any planning. Evidence suggests however that many slum areas are in fact the result of organized, structured processes carried out with discipline and precision. Formal and informal settlements coexist parallel to one another without significant interaction, and governments and informal planners rarely understand each other's work. Observations during visits to informal settlements in Guayaquil, Ecuador, revealed that they were arranged in a rational urban pattern with an orthogonal layout, with precise measurements and a certain degree of organization. This fascinating insight sparked curiosity and motivated this study, as it reinforced the idea that... (More)
- Informal settlements often appear chaotic, seeming perhaps to have emerged without any planning. Evidence suggests however that many slum areas are in fact the result of organized, structured processes carried out with discipline and precision. Formal and informal settlements coexist parallel to one another without significant interaction, and governments and informal planners rarely understand each other's work. Observations during visits to informal settlements in Guayaquil, Ecuador, revealed that they were arranged in a rational urban pattern with an orthogonal layout, with precise measurements and a certain degree of organization. This fascinating insight sparked curiosity and motivated this study, as it reinforced the idea that informal settlements are not purely chaotic but instead guided by tacit knowledge that could help guide sustainable urban development.
The licentiate dissertation seeks to answer a central question that arose from initial observations regarding how informal settlement planning functions and its consequences for dwellers in terms of quality of life. It also addresses questions such as why informal settlements succeed in providing more housing solutions than the formal sector, how communities organize decision-making and how this is reflected in physical planning, and how informal settlement development occurs in terms of land appropriation, subdivision, housing construction, and the provision of infrastructure and services. Additionally, this study explores what professional urban planners can learn from informal settlements.
Four theoretical concepts have been used both to understand and explain the findings. These are: (i) tacit knowledge, Polanyi’s approach; (ii) the practice of everyday life, Certeau’s approach); (iii) the production of space, Lefebvre’s approach; and (iv) territoriality, Kärrholm’s approach. The study highlights the transformative potential of organized communities in urban development. In Guayaquil, informal settlements, driven by accumulated local knowledge and adaptive strategies, play a significant role in housing production, and often produce a larger quantity of housing units than the formal sector. Key findings emphasize the importance of community organization, tacit knowledge, and spatial strategies, which enable these neighbourhoods to evolve incrementally and allow the informal spaces to be transformed into cohesive social and urban territories. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/95e7ceb1-cbfc-482c-8ec1-92ed3b25b310
- author
- Rasmussen, Maria LU
- supervisor
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Guayaquil, Informal settlements, Production of the space, Tacit Knowledge, Territoriality
- pages
- 96 pages
- ISBN
- 978-91-7740-140-7
- 978-91-7740-139-1
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 95e7ceb1-cbfc-482c-8ec1-92ed3b25b310
- date added to LUP
- 2025-08-14 12:16:07
- date last changed
- 2025-08-29 10:09:14
@misc{95e7ceb1-cbfc-482c-8ec1-92ed3b25b310,
abstract = {{Informal settlements often appear chaotic, seeming perhaps to have emerged without any planning. Evidence suggests however that many slum areas are in fact the result of organized, structured processes carried out with discipline and precision. Formal and informal settlements coexist parallel to one another without significant interaction, and governments and informal planners rarely understand each other's work. Observations during visits to informal settlements in Guayaquil, Ecuador, revealed that they were arranged in a rational urban pattern with an orthogonal layout, with precise measurements and a certain degree of organization. This fascinating insight sparked curiosity and motivated this study, as it reinforced the idea that informal settlements are not purely chaotic but instead guided by tacit knowledge that could help guide sustainable urban development.<br/>The licentiate dissertation seeks to answer a central question that arose from initial observations regarding how informal settlement planning functions and its consequences for dwellers in terms of quality of life. It also addresses questions such as why informal settlements succeed in providing more housing solutions than the formal sector, how communities organize decision-making and how this is reflected in physical planning, and how informal settlement development occurs in terms of land appropriation, subdivision, housing construction, and the provision of infrastructure and services. Additionally, this study explores what professional urban planners can learn from informal settlements.<br/>Four theoretical concepts have been used both to understand and explain the findings. These are: (i) tacit knowledge, Polanyi’s approach; (ii) the practice of everyday life, Certeau’s approach); (iii) the production of space, Lefebvre’s approach; and (iv) territoriality, Kärrholm’s approach. The study highlights the transformative potential of organized communities in urban development. In Guayaquil, informal settlements, driven by accumulated local knowledge and adaptive strategies, play a significant role in housing production, and often produce a larger quantity of housing units than the formal sector. Key findings emphasize the importance of community organization, tacit knowledge, and spatial strategies, which enable these neighbourhoods to evolve incrementally and allow the informal spaces to be transformed into cohesive social and urban territories.}},
author = {{Rasmussen, Maria}},
isbn = {{978-91-7740-140-7}},
keywords = {{Guayaquil; Informal settlements; Production of the space; Tacit Knowledge; Territoriality}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Licentiate Thesis}},
title = {{Learning from informal settlements : the case of Guayaquil}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/225368678/Avhandling_Maria_Rasmussen_LUCRIS.pdf}},
year = {{2025}},
}