RICE UNIVERSITY AN URBAN RENEWAL APPROACH FOR LATIN AMERICA by Luis Gomez A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF Master in Architecture Thesis Director's signature: PAUL KENNON Houston, Texas June 1967 3 1272 00674 5283 ABSTRACT OF AN URBAN RENEWAL APPROACH FOR LATIN AMERICA By LUIS GOMEZ My thesis is a system of Urban Renewal by combining work, housing and community facilities in deteriorated central sectors of Latin American cities. The arguments which uphold this position are: - The immediate necessity of revitalizing deteriorated sections of cities which have grown without proper attention. - The urgency of construction on a large scale, especially dwellings, to cover the existing deficits of housing and demographic growth. - The need for realizing the work of urban renewal through the govern¬ ment in each of the different Latin American countries. - The necessity of increasing industrialization and the economic development in each of the Latin American countries. The change which should be realized In the traditional form of city planning in the concept of integration of the basic dwelling, work recreation and circulation of urban planning and the concept of integration rather than their separation. The application of the concept of "evolution” in architecture and urban planning, that is to say taking into consideration the process of the life cycle, growth, development, and renewal of the parts. CONTENTS Page No. CHAPTER I. THE PRESENT SITUATION IN LATIN I AMERICA: "Misery" and "Social Changes" Incomes Social tensions Food Housing Employment Health The political situation The historical background The present situation Aspirations CHAPTER II. URBANIZATION IN LATIN AMERICA 9 A. Characteristics of Urbanization 1. Agricultural superproduction 2. Industrialization, or the technical revolution 3. The Commercial revolution 4. : Improvement in transportation 5.. Demographic explosion B. The Primary Causes of Latin American Urbanization Page No 1. Migration 2. Demographic growth C. Solutions 1. Containing the migration to the cities 2. Regulating the process of urbanization CHAPTER III. URBANIZATION EFFECTS IN LARGE CITIES 17 A. Two aspects of Urbanization Effects 1. Downtown 2. Sectional development B. Solutions CHAPTER IV. THE BASES FOR URBAN RENEWAL 22 A. Social Considerations 1. Housing and the population explosion 2. Migrant reception centers 3. Stimulation of11 national pressure groups"(Cuerpos intermedios) B. Economic Considerations I. The importance of indus¬ trialization Page No 2. ~ The factor of limited financial resources CHAPTER V PROPOSAL 24 A. Method of Procedure B. The Conceptual Bases C. The Proposed system CHAPTER Vi SUMMARY 30 CHAPTER VII DEMONSTRATION 32 APPENDIX BIBLIOGRAPHY INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION After three years of specialized professional work in my country, without time to step back and observe the whole picture, I have had a marvellous opportunity to visit the United States to study at Rice University, to pause in my usual work, to see other things, other people, another language , . and to compare. It has been a priceless experience. I was authorized by the Government of Chile, in a Service Commission, to accept a scholarship sponsored by the Ford Foundation to study courses related to housing (of a social-problem nature) and community facilities. I have therefore planned my thesis to fit within the boundaries acceptable to the Service Commission of which I am a member. The year 1966 has meant for me a return to university studies — studies limited by the brevity of the period, but specific and of direct application to practical problems. ! "A thesis (Oerg) is a position, or proposition, that is maintained through reason." This is the definition of "thesis" according to the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy. In addition, in architecture and city planning, "thesis" is a conceptual position with regard to subjects related to the profession, and not a synonym for scientific research or for a specific project. The relations among thesis, antithesis, research and projects must be subordinated in their programming and development to the time available. For the development of this thesis, i had only 82 days, less than three months, sufficient time only to define my position in a subject — urban renewal —* that is of profound social significance and of great urgency in its application for the Continent to which I belong. Difficulties with the English language and the brevity of time available are the principal reasons that I have not realized a greater revision and synthetization of the ideas expressed. Finally, because of the Service Commission that I am a part of here in the United States, this thesis has been of necessity executed simultaneously in English and Spanish. CHAPTER I THE PRESENT SITUATION IN LATIN AMERICA I CHAPTER I THE PRESENT SITUATION IN LATIN AMERICA To understand the forces at work in the large cities of Latin America, the socio-economic aspects of the countries which make up a whole must be studied. It would be futile to attempt solutions to individual problems which, while they may appear to be isolated, are in reality created by the general socio-economic conditions of the total continent. It must be remembered that Latin America countries shared a common coionialization experience, that the dominant languages are Spanish and Portuguese, and that the traditions, habits and customs of each of the countries are related in their Iberian peninsular origin, all of which provide Latin America with a unique expression and motivation in the Western Hemisphere. After independence was achieved in the various countries in the nineteenth century, much of the unity of Latin America was re¬ placed by nationalism. Although the roots of unity remain, the rest of the world has failed to recognize the profound differences between the countries, seeing instead a continental unity which does not, in fact, exist. Humanity is today approaching a greater unity and interaction than it has ever known before. Forces of a social, economic and technical scientific nature which appear anywhere in the world affect, directly or indirectly, ail countries. Distances have been minimized in traveling 2 time, systems of communication bring peoples closer to one another, and countries are becoming gradually more inter-dependent. But differences do remain: a multiplicity of languages; political- administ¬ rative systems, economic resources and cultures persist even as uniformity spreads. The reason for this study is born of the necessity of personally experiencing in which direction the Latin America is headed and the forces which shape that direction. With this experience, plus research, I should like to show how architecture and city planning can make significant contributions to the evolution and improvement of the different social groups. This first part of the study is solely factual and will describe the most important factors common to all the Continent, without going into great detail. "Misery" and Social Changes Above all other considerations, the vital problem in Latin America is that of misery. A misery which penetrates all the aspects of human life and which lies at the root of other problems, which gnaws at man, destroying his humanity. 1 Roger Vekemans, Ramon Venegas, Mensaje, Vol. 4, No. 149 (June 1966), Page 39 Note: All translations from Spanish and French sources are by this writer unless otherwise indicated. 3 2 "The future movement in Latin America is the social revolution". These two factors, misery and social change, are intimately related and constitute the basis of every Latin American country's most pressing concerns. Mass media » motion pictures, television, the transitor radio, etc, — impart to the people of Latin America a scale of values which is not their own, a scale on which the art of mass consumption displaces that of survival. The actual standard of living, reflected in salaries and purchasing power, is too low to satisfy the wants of the average citizen, creating in him a feeling of frustration and discontent. More¬ over, in most cases, the minimum resources necessary to satisfy the vital needs of food, clothing, eduction, and housing are sadly inadequate. The rise in the cost of manufactured products which come from the developed countries is much sharper than that of the income from the sale of raw materials, textiles, and minerals by Latin America. This disparity diminishes the buying power of each country and each in¬ habitant. Incomes A per capita income comparison with the United States demonstrates the great disparity of income on an individual basis, in 1957 the average income per capita were as follows in TABLE 1: 2 J. William Fulbright, speech in U.S. Senate, September 15, 1965. TABLE 1 Average Per Capita Income Latin America $ 290.00 United States 2, 500.00 This means a Latin American monthly income of $24.17, a figure which graphically explains deficiencies in food, clothing, housing and education, the poor health of the people, and potitical instability. 5 5 TABLE 2 INCOME LEVEL PER INHABITANT, 1961 National Gross Product Group of Per Inhabitant Expressed Countries in Real Terms (U.S. $) Developed Countries $ 1,744 Occidental Eurppe 1,472 Oceania 1,513 U.S.A. 2,790 Canada 2,048 Japan 613 South Africa 598 Socialist Countries 401 U.S.S.R. 986 Occidental Europe 825 China 167 North Korea 211 North Viet-Nam 199 Underdeveloped Countries 233 Africa 164 America (islands) 425 (Latin America) (421) Asia 154 Meridional Europe 511 Orient 257 Total - World 585 5 The Economic Post-War Development in Latin America, United Nations, 1962, Table 4, Page 52. 6 Some examples of large-scale solutions with regard to design and construction for housing large numbers of people in one project are listed below in TABLE 8 and outlined in more detail in the Project Plans in¬ cluded in the APPENDICES. 32 TABLE 8 Number of Housing Development City Inhabitants Poblacion Cardenal J. M. Caro Santiago 120,000 Unidad Monoalco Tlatelolco Mexico City 70,000 Poblacion E.