Housing Policy and Social Movements in Latin America

Housing policy in Latin America has long been shaped by competing paradigms of state intervention and market liberalisation. From the post-war era of mass public housing to late-twentieth-century neoliberal reforms, governments have alternated between direct provision, subsidy schemes and regulatory oversight. In parallel, social movements—from organised squatters’ federations to grassroots residents’ associations—have emerged as critical actors, contesting exclusionary planning, demanding affordable and dignified dwelling and asserting the right to the city. These movements mobilise around evictions, land occupations and participatory planning processes, forging alliances with legal advocates and international networks. Contemporary scholarship emphasises hybrid arrangements in which formal finance, self-construction and community governance intersect. The persistent expansion of informal settlements, often on marginal land, underlines structural deficits in supply and finance, while local struggles highlight the political salience of housing as both a social right and an arena of collective empowerment. Emerging debates also explore links between housing quality, health inequities and sustainable urban development, situating Latin American experiences within global agendas on social inclusion and the Sustainable Development Goals.

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Housing Policy and Social Movements in Latin America publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in housing policy and social movements in latin america across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Social housing: Housing provided or subsidised by the state or public bodies to ensure affordability for low-income groups.

Campamentos: Informal settlements characterised by self-construction on land without formal tenure, common in Chile and other Andean cities.

Right to the city: A political concept asserting inhabitants’ collective claim to shape urban space and its governance.

Urban informality: Economic and social practices, including housing provision, that operate outside formal regulatory frameworks.

References

1. Policies and Mechanisms of Public Financing for Social Housing in Peru. Sustainability (2023).
2. Adequate housing as a social determinant of the health of international migrants and locals in Chile between 2013 and 2022. BMC Public Health (2024).
3. Misma lucha, distintos objetivos: estrategias territoriales por el derecho a la ciudad en dos campamentos de Temuco, Chile. Revista Urbano (2024).