Historically described through theories of marginality and urban precariousness, 'informal settlements' must disappear for Latin American cities to achieve sustainability. However, in countries such as the Dominican Republic, these neighborhoods are part of the informal market responsible for 75% of housing production. Because they powerfully shape the urban pattern of the city of Santo Domingo, a new analysis approach is necessary. For some researchers, the existence of these barrios in our cities indicates that these neighborhoods are crucial for the definition and development of contemporary urbanism. Their inhabitants are capable actors able to embrace significant transformations, particularly in terms of sustainability. In line with this approach, this article offers a study of four Dominican slums based on three categories of analysis: the inhabitant's capabilities, the compact urban structure of informal settlements, and the practice of eco-citizenship. For these purposes, a qualitative methodology was deployed using ethnographic research tools: participant observation over time and systematic description of spaces and situations. The results show that even if these informal settlements have characteristics compatible with urban sustainability, they are little recognized and dependent on internal and external socio-spatial depreciation.
A partir de tres experiencias pedagógicas de observación y levantamiento urbano realizadas en diferentes puntos de la metrópolis dominicana, el presente artículo explora las dimensiones físicas, temporales y sensoriales de 18 espacios públicos en Santo Domingo. Se propone un análisis multidimensional y multiescalar, tomando en cuenta la configuración espacial, los usos y prácticas, desde la percepción de los estudiantes observadores y de los residentes, quienes participan en la generación de insumos para el desarrollo local de herramientas territoriales gubernamentales. Las principales conclusiones apuntan hacia una carencia de calidad urbana, la falta de seguridad que define estos espacios y unos ritmos de usos subyugados a la segregación espacial.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.