Spatial Justice and Informal Settlements

Eva Schwab is a Lecturer and Researcher at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna. Her research focuses on the politics of public space and socio-spatial urban research. She has been engaged in a number of inter- and transdisciplinary research projects in a national as well as international context. Her PhD won the Landscape Research Group's Dissertation Prize as well as her university's Talent Award.

• 1. Introduction 2. Informal Settlement Upgrading and Spatial Justice 3. Everyday open spaces in the context of upgrading popular settlements 4. The Production of Space in the Context of Upgrading Popular Settlements 5. Upgrading through Public Open Space 6. Conclusions: Upgrading Beyond Equity

This study examines issues of spatial justice and public open spaces in informal settlements in the Global South through a case study of Comuna 13 in Medellín, Colombia. It explores open spaces and informal settlements in Latin America and how they support spatial justice and people's quality of life, looking at their design, production, use, and management in the context of governmental upgrading programs that aim to reduce poverty in an integral manner. It considers how spatial justice can be conceived in the context of governmental upgrading initiatives in informal settlements in Latin America and how public open spaces increase spatial justice and quality of life in informal settlements. It discusses the material configuration, production, management, and use of open spaces and informal settlements in the context of in-situ governmental upgrading initiatives from a spatial justice perspective based on valuing the social and material achievements of settlers as a contribution to urban life and culture and the design of cities. It focuses on people's experiences in public open spaces, as well as the assessments, value judgments, and interpretations they offer regarding the upgrading process in terms of the quality of the material space; the process of its production; the way it is maintained, managed, and regulated; and the use of the space and how it is connected to the everyday lives and practices of people in informal settlements.