Co-production and Public Space: Perspectives and Experiences from Latin American Informal Neighbourhoods.

Every major latin american city contains settlements that have burst upon on their own, informally and unplanned, in rather challenging socioeconomical circumstances, and yet hold high cohesion between its inhabitants. How have they adapted? What strategies should we embrace to strengthen bonds between people and place? What are the historical, current, invisible adversities that ought to be overcome?

We explore the situation of a handful of Latin American cities (in Ecuador, Colombia, Perú) and review solutions that have been found on each: propagating mingas and covites, redefining their relationship with nature, co-producing their own solutions. At the same time, we dwell into the conceptual framework that this three-volume ouvre is based upon: that is, that solutions should come from the neighbourhood itself; that any rushed, standarized intervention risks spoiling relationships that are stronger that they may seem, and that fostering encounters, collectivity and social interaction do lead to more resilient communities.