Community Participation and Empowerment in Informal Settlement Upgrading

Abstract

As part of the larger urban context, informal settlements belong to the realm of formal urban governance while simultaneously possessing governance systems of their own. In the Mexican context, a shift in urban governance has facilitated elements of a networks approach, which places community participation as central to upgrading interventions, to coexist with a historically dominant hierarchical approach. Community participation involves dwellers in the process and is a means for community empowerment, but its validity is put into question as expert-driven and technocratic approaches persist. Therefore, informal settlement upgrading finds itself at a crossroads at which the formal and informal governance systems and hierarchical and networks governance approaches converge. This thesis focuses on identifying factors of government-led upgrading programmes that enable community participation to promote a process of empowerment; taking the Campana-Altamira Initiative in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon as a case study. In this research, community participation covers a broad range of activities and is seen as a means for community empowerment, defined as the ability to gain access to resources, democratically participate and gain a critical awareness of reality. The methodology used to conduct the research was a literature review, followed by empirical research focusing on the Contextual, Socio-Spatial, Planning, and Stakeholder dimensions. The data
was collected through document analysis of socio-urban diagnostics and planning instruments of the case study, as well as interviews and focus groups with public, private, civil society, and expert groups. Through the review of planning documents, analysis of stakeholder relations, and power dynamics, seven factors are identified and presented, namely the Planning Process and Policy, Transparency and Reliability, Networks and Support, Leadership, Stakeholder Collaboration, Community Collectivity, and Contextual Implications. In addition, contributions of this research, recommendation for further research, and a reflection on the topic and process are presented.