Social Urbanism in Latin America

Abstract

The chapter introduces some current concepts and its historical precedents in regard to social urbanism, a contemporary strand of multidisciplinary studies about cities that emerge from the Latin America’s complex reality, which is the most urbanized of the continents, and other transition cities from the Global South.

In these terms, social urbanism aims to promote the improvement of urban life quality and territorial inclusion, especially by directing investments toward socially vulnerable areas and integrated solutions of social housing and urban support infrastructure. In that sense, social urbanism is explained to be a relevant part of the New Urban Agenda when it is contemplated as a city science of the twenty-first century, with emphasis on social inclusion.

The text contextualizes the historical social demands of Latin American cities, the urgent demand for urban public policies, as well as presents some local innovative experiences in different countries on land policy, its instruments of urban planning and financing, local integral urban projects, social housing and neighborhood upgrading programs, city management, urban law, and new forms of community participation processes.

The “cities for all” and “sustainable city” demands are approached as an integrated agenda for the Global South incorporating social innovation aspects related to the inclusive cities.