Social housing and the pandemic in Colombia. Disruptions in dwelling practices

ABSTRACT

Social housing built in the last decade in Colombia shows an upsurge in peripheral urbanizations that began in the 90s series of large high-rise communities in areas of urban expansion, disconnected from city centers, with insufficient access to goods and services, and with strict regulations set by the horizontal property regime. Based on a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of social housing projects in four regions of Colombia, in this article we discuss social and economic disruptions the pandemic caused in the lives of residents. We show that the pandemic not only affected the daily life of households and their economic situation, but also altered rules of coexistence strict bans on economic activities in homes were relaxed, while biosafety protocols reinforced boundaries between inside and outside of the complexes. Analyzing this crisis in peripheral horizontal property highlights the importance of rethinking the organization of collective life in these dwellings.