DIRECTIONS IN DEVELOPMENT Slum Upgrading and Participation Lessons from Latin America Ivo Imparato Jeff Ruster THE WORLD BANK WASHINGTON, D.C. © 2003 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20433 Telephone 202-473-1000 Internet www.worldbank.org E-mail [email protected] All rights reserved 1 2 3 4 06 05 04 03 The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of the World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Rights and Permissions The material in this work is copyrighted. 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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Imparato, Ivo, 1959– Slum upgrading and participation: lessons from Latin America / Ivo Imparato, Jeff Ruster. p. cm. – (Directions in development) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8213-5370-5 1. Urban poor—Housing—Latin America. 2. Community development, Urban—Latin America. 3. Slums—Latin America. 4. Urban poor—Housing—Latin America—Case studies. 5. Community development, Urban—Latin America—Case studies. 6. Slums— Latin America—Case studies. I. Ruster, Jeff. II. Title. III. Series. HD7287.96.L29I46 2003 307.3'44'098—dc21 2003050072 Contents Forewordvii Prefaceix Acknowledgmentsxiii Authors and Task Teamxvii Acronyms and Abbreviationsxix Introduction1 PART I: LESSONS FROM THE FIELD13 1.Facets of Participation15 The Impact of Participation18 What Is Participation and Who Benefits from It?19 Levels and Degrees of Participation22 Motivations for Urban Upgrading and Housing Programs28 Some Considerations Regarding Poverty and Social Capital36 Sustainability and Local Initiative42 2. Case Summaries Statistical Comparisons47 Case Study #1. Bolivia: The People’s Participation Law56 Case Study #2. Brazil: The Guarapiranga Program, São Paulo61 iii iv CONTENTS Case Study #3. Costa Rica: FUPROVI’s Habitat Popular Urbano Program, San José65 Case Study #4. Mexico: Community Upgrading Programs, Tijuana69 Case Study #5. Peru: The Self-Managed Urban Community of Villa El Salvador, Lima73 Other Relevant Cases76 3.Organizing Participation: The Project Level95 Development Projects and the Social Process95 The Significance of a Strong Social Intermediary97 Community Organization and Level of Participation118 Community Organization: Area-Based, Interest Group- Based, or Some Combination Thereof?128 The Issue of Gender133 Looking out for Vulnerable Groups136 Mobilizing Local Knowledge and Resources138 Information and Communication: Social Marketing Strategies 142 Participatory Area Development Planning146 Creating Incentives for Landlords and Tenants150 Privatized Utilities and the Urban Poor152 4.Focusing on Process: Program Design and Rollout Strategies155 Stage 1. Preidentification and Consensus-Building157 Stage 2. Prefeasibility Studies and Program Identification163 Stage 3. Feasibility Studies and Program Design193 Stage 4. Establishing a Program Monitoring and Evaluation System200 Stage 5. Rolling out the Program208 5.Scaling Up: The Policy Level227 Political Will227 Policy Environment and a Citywide Upgrading Strategy230 Area-Based Needs Assessment, Planning, and Implementation232 Subsidy Structures and Cost Recovery Strategies236 Legal and Regulatory Framework243 Ensuring Land Availability and Security of Land Tenure248 Strategic Alliances253 Institutional Arrangements and Decentralization266 Development of a Critical Mass of Local Capabilities276 The Role of Microfinance in Community Infrastructure279 CONTENTS v PART II. VOICES FROM THE FIELD 6.Bolivia: The People’s Participation Law289 The Importance of the Bolivian Experience290 Background292 Participatory Process: Law 1551294 Legal and Regulatory Framework313 Resource Mobilization and Financial Sustainability316 Actors, Alliances, and Institutional Arrangements318 Organization and Implementation325 Scale and Sustainability326 Conclusions327 7.Brazil: The Guarapiranga Program, São Paulo329 The Importance of the Guarapiranga Experience331 Background332 Participatory Process335 Legal and Regulatory Framework342 Resource Mobilization and Financial Sustainability346 Actors, Alliances, and Institutional Arrangements350 Organization and Implementation354 Scale and Sustainability358 Conclusions361 8. Costa Rica: FUPROVI’s Habitat Popular Urbano Program, San José365 The Importance of the FUPROVI Experience365 Background366 Participatory Process372 Legal and Regulatory Framework379 Resource Mobilization and Financial Sustainability381 Actors, Alliances, and Institutional Arrangements385 Design and Technology386 Scale and Sustainability388 Conclusions393 9.Mexico: Community Upgrading Programs, Tijuana397 The Importance of the Tijuana Experience398 Background398 Participatory Process407 Legal and Regulatory Framework411 Resource Mobilization and Financial Sustainability414 Actors, Alliances, and Institutional Arrangements417 vi CONTENTS Organization and Implementation420 Scale and Sustainability423 Conclusions427 10. Peru: The Self-Managed Urban Community of Villa El Salvador, Lima431 The Importance of the VES Experience432 Background436 Participatory Process439 Legal and Regulatory Framework441 Resource Mobilization and Financial Sustainability445 Actors, Alliances, and Institutional Arrangements450 Design and Technology458 Scale and Sustainability466 Conclusions468 Appendix A. Sample Strategic Plan Outline471 Appendix B. Sample Operating Manual Outline475 References479 Foreword Oscar Arias Decent shelter is a basic human need and a basic human right. But as Latin America’s urban population continues to grow at a rapid rate, pro- viding safe, sanitary, affordable housing and basic infrastructure for all city-dwellers will become an increasingly serious challenge for the region’s policymakers. Already, tens of millions of Latin Americans live precariously in informal settlements, often lacking access to basic social services. In the years ahead, the demand for housing will rise further as Latin America’s children reach adulthood and start families of their own. While today 60 percent of the region’s population is between 15 and 65 years of age, it is estimated that that figure will rise to 70 percent within the next 20 years. Unless the increasing demand for housing is met, the slums and shantytowns of our region will continue to expand, contrib- uting to the rise of such social problems as crime, violence, poverty, un- employment, and disease. Moreover, unless Latin America’s slums are replaced by improved settlements, another generation of our children will grow up without the education that they will need to be productive contributors to the global economy, without faith in democratic institu- tions, and without hope for the future. As president of Costa Rica from 1986 to 1990, I made the provision of housing a top priority of my administration. At a time when our urban population was expanding rapidly, I pledged to oversee the construc- tion of 20,000 housing units per year. In a small country like Costa Rica, which had just over 500,000 units of housing in the mid-1980s, such a program was truly ambitious. In the end, we were able to provide many more than the promised 80,000 housing units during the four years of my presidency. Indeed, on a per capita basis, we built more houses than any other country in Latin America. The energy that was invested in the vii viii FOREWORD provision of housing and basic infrastructure during those years gave rise to several innovative initiatives, including one that is described in this book. These efforts reflected a desire on the part of my government to meet the most pressing needs of the Costa Rican people, but these programs also reflected my conviction that the availability of decent shel- ter is an essential precondition for social stability and economic growth. As I said when I received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987, “We are con- vinced that a land free of slums will be a land free of hatred.” This publication is intended to help Latin American leaders confront the growing need for housing and basic infrastructure in the cities of our region. Recognizing that traditional public housing policies are unlikely to meet the needs of the urban poor, the authors of this work have sought out successful examples of “participatory urban upgrading.” This ap- proach to the provision of shelter calls for the improvement