Beyond displacement: territorialization in the port city of Buenaventura, Colombia

Abstract

In (post-)conflict contexts, territorial struggles are strongly associated with the displacement of communities, whether rural-urban or intra-urban. Here, we argue for refocusing attention on territorialization processes as a means of understanding the dynamics and consequences of contestation between vulnerable minority communities and powerful groups. Focusing on the majority Afro-Colombian city of Buenaventura in the Pacific coastal region, which is simultaneously Colombia's most significant port and one of its most neglected cities, we explore processes of de-and re-territorialization. Beyond tropes of displacement and resistance, territorialization offers a conceptual lens for understanding territorial struggles as complex events, in terms of the physical and symbolic effects of de-territorialization on communities and individuals, and re-territorialization as plural, disruptive practices of re-existence. This suggests the need to focus on everyday experiences as well as specific time-and space-bound moments of struggle. In this way, a territorialization approach permits a deeper understanding of the social production of territory with multiple elements relating to identity, symbolic practices and time-space dimensions.

Can residents regain their community relations after resettlement? Insights from Shanghai

“…Furthermore, drawing on the concept of reterritorialization, studies highlight the importance of researching who is in control over the ways the lives of residents "were being constructed and lived" in the new territory that residents are resettled to (Clare, Habermehl, & Mason-Deese, 2018:314; see also : Lombard et al, 2021;Rogers & Wilmsen, 2020;Wang, 2022). In relation to resettled residents in China, Wang (2022:4) defines reterritorialization as a "process of rebuilding the social norms and relations of resettled residents in a way that benefits the state" by rendering them more governable.…”

“…In many cities across the world, development-induced resettlement has become commonplace (Leitner, Sheppard, & Colven, 2022;Lombard et al, 2021;Meth, Belihu, Buthelezi, & Masikane, 2022;Roast et al, 2022;Rogers & Wilmsen, 2020;Wu & He, 2005). Through the optics of displacement, studies have uncovered many problems residents encounter during resettlement, including forced evictions, loss of livelihood and income sources, poor compensation and the dismantlement of community relations (Huang et al, 2020;Lelevrier, 2013;Liu et al, 2017;Wu & He, 2005;Zhang, 2004).…”

“…Although the framework of displacement has been critical in understanding the negative impacts of resettlement, a growing number of studies argue that the struggles of residents continue well beyond the singular moment of physical uprooting (Leitner et al, 2022;Lombard et al, 2021;Meth et al, 2022;Wallace, 2020;Wang, 2020Wang, , 2022Watt, 2022).…”

Coping with Extortion: On Violence, Parasites, and Water Infrastructures in Buenaventura, Colombia

“…I argue that they represent a 'quiet encroachment of the ordinary,' as put by Bayat, 'a salient, patient, protracted, and pervasive advancement of ordinary people […] to survive hardship and better their lives' (1997: 57). While other scholars have focused on strategies employed by social activists(Jenss 2020;Lombard et al 2021;Zeiderman 2016), I focus here on dwellers who do not articulate a political discourse in a legible register.…”

“…It was built next to the via alterna, the second main road of Buenaventura, which leads to the port and was constructed to facilitate the circulation of trucks and commodities and to prevent a threatening bottleneck of the principal road(Melly 2017). During the construction works of via alterna(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002), conflicts over inhabited territories emerged, leading to selective assassinations and an increase of violent events(Lombard et al 2021). Due to this proximity, the social life of Ciudad Blanca is highly influenced by the 'economies of the road': namely restaurants, hotels, car workshops, and parking areas(Harvey et al 2015).…”