Human Habitation in the Context of Colombia’s Bicentennial: Reflections from the Territory and the Memory

Abstract

The process of creating the fundamental curriculum document for the new Master of Science in Habitat Studies for the Sciences of Habitat Department of the University of La Salle between 2008 and 2010, allowed a space of reflection to be created and at the same time, being parallel to the resizing of the curriculum for the Architecture Program and the creation of new undergraduate programs in Urban Planning and Technology in Construction, energizing questions about human habitat in Colombia and its impact on the quality of life that Colombians have. For this reason, we began in asking what is understood when we refer to a human habitat, what types of habitats have the human species produced and what problems and challenges have confronted contemporary society, the problems of the human habitat or of human habitation. Defining the concepts and the parameters of reflection, the relevant question was what type of human habitat has been constructed in Colombia after two hundred years of independence, what have been the transformations, the improvements and the problems that have arisen; what type of society has been constructed and consolidated and how has this been expressed physically, in space and territory.