Evolution of Potreritos informal settlement in Bogota Analysis and mapping of social-urban transformation as a tool for a sensitive projecting of a new social housing typology

Abstract

The article exposes the author’s direct experience in the neighborhood Potreritos of Bogotá, Colombia. This experience is drawn on analysis and survey of the evolutionary logics of the neighborhood, from its urban plan to specific housing, from its origin to today. Through the comparison of historical maps, current cadastral maps and aerial photographs, combined with the tales of the locals, the evolution of Potreritos was reconstructed, showing a strong relationship between the evolution of the neighborhood and the social realities of its inhabitants. This study continued in the survey of four houses from the same neighborhood as well as in interviews with the householders that have been of fundamental importance for understanding the logics of informal housing. The article concludes with the author’s reflections on a new type of social housing, respectful of the tastes, needs and expectations of the “informal” people and able to give them access to networking opportunities in the city.