El desarrollo de la política de vivienda en Colombia: la consolidación urbana en la ciudad construida

Abstract

Colombia has experienced a consolidation of the housing policy that resulted in the reduction of the quantitative deficit in the urban area of the country. However, when the two latest population censuses in 2005 and 2018 are compared, a slight increase in the total housing deficit is found. There is therefore a paradox between an institutionally consolidated housing policy and a persistent deficit. Inadequate housing conditions are persistent in urban contexts, mainly in the peripheries, arising from informal self-construction dynamics. On the other hand, there is a high demand for formal housing derived from demographic pressures. Demand that, in the main cities of Colombia, has been supplied in sprawling lands and agglomerated municipalities far from the employment districts of these cities. This phenomenon has contributed to the expansion of the urban footprint, commute times and consequently to the generation of greenhouse gases. Although there is a considerable amount of underutilized land with a high capacity for densification, housing developers develop few urban renewal projects. This document identifies and synthesizes the main challenges of housing policy to strengthen and support the processes of improvement of informal neighborhoods and urban renewal in the main cities of Colombia.