THE MEANING OF ‘SOCIAL’ IN MEXICAN SOCIAL HOUSING A STUDY OF INFONAVIT HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS IN MAZATLAN, MEXICO Claudia Gabriela Pérez Ibarra Supervisors: Dr Paula Meth and Dr Glyn Williams The University of Sheffield Department of Urban Studies and Planning Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy MARCH 2016 To my mum, who taught me to see the best in myself A mi mamá, quién me enseñó a ver lo mejor en mí To my nan, who taught me to see the best in others A mi abuelita, quién me enseñó a ver lo mejor en los demás ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to a woman of whom I am immensely proud to be her daughter, Xóchitl Ibarra. Thanks for your love, your teachings, your hard work, your sacrifice, your example, your support, your integrity, your strength; I am where I am thanks to you. Thanks for everything. To Paula and Glyn, thanks so much for your inexhaustible support, invaluable teachings, and wise guidance during my PhD; I will be forever grateful for making me feel welcome in your office and your home. Thanks to my auntie Chava, who lovingly hosted me (and fed me), and enthusiastically helped me during my fieldwork in Mazatlán. Many thanks to all those who agreed on participating in my research, particularly to the residents who shared their lives with me in ‘INFONAVIT Jabalíes’, ‘Prados del Sol’, ‘Pradera Dorada’, and ‘URBI Villa del Real’ in Mazatlán. As well, thanks to my teachers, colleagues and students; I learned so much from all of you. And to the USP staff, thanks very much for your support from day one. Thanks to my dear housemates Andy [Andrés] Lockhart, Rich [Ricardo] Goulding and Nick [Nicolás] Fletcher for their friendship, British cuisine lessons and bantering tutorials; after more than three years together, we really know how to push each other’s buttons... just like family. To Marcia Vera, thanks so much for patiently listening to my intellectual and emotional rants; I’m so glad we had the chance to cheer each other up during the last kilometres of this marathon. To the USP research room crowd: Radmila Schelle, Andy Lockhart, Wu-Long Jhuang, Reyhane Shojaee, Caroline McCalman, Emily Ball, Feng Xin Cissy, Aysegul Can, Morag Rose, Hannah Bayfield, Chloe Skinner, Svenja Timmins, and all the rest of the first-, second-, third- and up-years... thanks for turning my PhD into a deeply fun and truly memorable experience from the very beginning until the last minute of it. And to all my friends; the USPeeps and the Geography gang; the PhD-ones and the non-PhD ones; the ones in Mexico and the ones in the UK; the international ones and the conational ones; the ones still with me and the ones who left; the ones I see every year and the ones I see every day. Thanks very much. Finally, many thanks to the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT) for sponsoring my doctoral studies. P.S. Radmila and Wu-Long: it’s way nicer on the other side… i Gracias a una mujer de la que me siento profundamente orgullosa de ser su hija, Xóchitl Ibarra. Gracias por tu amor, tus enseñanzas, tu sacrificio, tu ejemplo, tu apoyo, tu integridad, tu fortaleza; estoy donde estoy gracias a ti. Gracias por todo. A Paula y a Glyn, mil gracias por su incansable apoyo e invaluables enseñanzas durante mi doctorado; estaré siempre agradecida por hacerme sentir bienvenida en su oficina y en su familia. Gracias a mi tía Chava, quién cariñosamente me hospedó (y alimentó), siempre dispuesta a ayudarme durante mi trabajo de campo en Mazatlán. Muchas gracias a todos quienes participaron en mi investigación, particularmente a los residentes de ‘INFONAVIT Jabalíes’, ‘Prados del Sol’, ‘Pradera Dorada’, y ‘URBI Villa del Real’ en Mazatlán que compartieron su historia de vida conmigo. También, gracias a mis maestros, colegas y alumnos; aprendí mucho de todos ustedes. Y a todo el personal de USP, muchas gracias por su apoyo desde el primer día de mi doctorado. Gracias a mis queridos jausmeits [Andrés] Lockhart, [Ricardo] Goulding y [Nicolás] Fletcher por su amistad, clases de cocina británica y lecciones de sarcasmo a la inglesa; luego de más de tres años juntos vaya que sabemos sacarnos de nuestras casillas… cual una familia. A Marcia Vera, muchas gracias por tu paciencia durante mis y subibajas intelectuales y emocionales; me place haber corrido los últimos kilómetros de este maratón juntas. A todos en el salón de investigación en USP: Radmila Schelle, Andy Lockhart, Wu-Long Jhuang, Reyhane Shojaee, Caroline McCalman, Emily Ball, Feng Xin Cissy, Aysegul Can, Morag Rose, Hannah Bayfield, Chloe Skinner, Svenja Timmins, y a todos los demás en su primer, segundo, tercero o final año… gracias por hacer de mi doctorado una experiencia verdaderamente divertida y memorable de principio a fin. Y a todos mis amigos; a los de USP y los de Geografía; a los del doctorado y a los de fuera del doctorado; a los que están en México y a los que están en el Reino Unido; a los internacionales y a los connacionales; a los que aún están conmigo y a los que ya se fueron; a los que veo cada año y a los que veo a diario. Muchas gracias. Finalmente, muchas gracias al Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) por patrocinar mis estudios de doctorado. P.D. Radmila y Wu-Long: se está mucho mejor de este lado… ii ABSTRACT This thesis explores the social housing process in Mexico, which is mainly defined by the planning, construction and provision of housing, and ends with the delivery of the dwellings, overlooking the post-occupational stage of housing. This research focuses first on INFONAVIT, a Mexican institution in charge of administering a housing fund for workers since 1972 that has received many critiques because of its disconnection from the housing process since the late 1980s, when law reforms delegated the construction of housing to the private sector. Secondly, on private actors such as developers and construction companies, who have been critiqued due to the decreasing material quality and size of the houses. Finally, on social housing residents’ experiences with their houses and the built environment’s impact on their everyday life. Through an extensive qualitative approach, 19 actors involved in the housing design, planning and production process, and 50 residents in four housing projects in the city of Mazatlán, Mexico, were interviewed during a two-stage visit to Mexico City and Mazatlán. Along with the development of semi-structured interviewing, the architectural design of social housing units and the housing policies and regulations behind its production were analysed, making use of a multi-methods strategy combining direct observation, document analysis, analysis of secondary sources, and the use of photographs, architectural layouts and sketches. The findings of this research contribute to a deeper understanding of the meaning of ‘social’ in social housing, while acknowledging the need for a socially responsible planning and architectural design process. Due to the multi-disciplinary theoretical basis of this study, this thesis aims to be of interest not only to researchers, but also to inform practitioners in their decisions, including planners, architects, and policy makers. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................ v LIST OF PLATES ................................................................................................................ ix LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... xi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................... xii ACRONYMS AND ABREVIATIONS .................................................................................... xiii GLOSSARY ...................................................................................................................... xv CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 PREFACE...................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 RESEARCH FOCUS ................................................................................................................. 3 1.2 AIM AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS ......................................................................................... 5 1.3 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS.................................................................................................. 6 CHAPTER 2 SOCIAL HOUSING AND HOUSING FOR WORKERS: THE CONTEXT ........................................ 9 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 THE FIRST ATTEMPTS AT STATE HOUSING PROVISION ...................................................... 9 2.3 THE CREATION OF INFONAVIT ........................................................................................... 13 2.4 THE NEOLIBERALISATION OF SOCIAL HOUSING 1992-2005 ............................................. 16 CONCLUSION ...........................................................................................................................