The study of urban and housing informality in Latin America and Chile: key perspectives and debates

Abstract

This article identifies the diverse perspectives within studies on urban and housing informality in Latin America, describing the contributions and criticisms they have faced. The methodology included a thorough literature review that temporally traced the moments of emergence and periods of greater impact of each of these. Additionally, the case of Chile is used to illustrate how each trend has arisen in part due to social and political circumstances. It is argued that these perspectives should be used complementarily given the multifactorial nature of the phenomenon.