Draft first regional report on the implementation of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development

Chapter III
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
which are a part of the segregation phenomenon, are those territories where the different axes and aspects
of socioterritorial inequality intersect the most. They lack public services, adequate access-ways, transport
systems, schools, parks and other spaces, recreation areas and other public goods. They do not offer their
tenants secure or stable tenure and, in many cases, the land use is informal or illegal. Slums are located in
run-down central areas characterized by environmental risks or in peripheral zones, poorly connected to and
far from services and opportunities, which increases the risk of social problems (violence and health) for their
inhabitants (UN-Habitat/CAF, 2014; UN-Habitat, 2012).
In Latin America and the Caribbean in 2014, one in every five urban residents lived in inadequate housing,
according to data for 16 countries (see figure III.29). Although figures are lower than those of other developing
regions on average, 123 performances are mixed from one country to the next. Haiti is the country with the
highest percentage of the population living in slums: in 2005 this figure stood at 70% and almost 10 years
later it had risen to 75%. 124 The corresponding figure in the Plurinational State of Bolivia was also higher than
the <strong>regional</strong> average. However, unlike Haiti, the percentage declined between 2005 and 2014, from 50%
to 43%. Meanwhile, in Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana and Peru, figures were higher than 30% in 2014. In
Ecuador, the percentage increased from 22% to 36% in the last 10 years. Costa Rica and Suriname were the
countries with the lowest percentage of the population living in slums, at less than 10% in 2014. While the
figure in Costa Rica declined sharply between 2005 and 2014, it rose in Suriname, from 4% to 7%. Belize and
Mexico recorded percentages close to 10% (11% in both cases) and both have seen this figure decrease
steadily in the past 10 years. In Chile, although there are no recent records, already in 2005 this figure was
lower than 10%. Several of these countries with low percentages of the urban population living in slums have
implemented various programmes to improve access to decent housing and neighbourhoods with infrastructure
for the provision of basic services. Some programmes help people to move out of the slums and to better
housing through relocation, implementing comprehensive strategies that incorporate the closure of gaps, in
coordination with public and private entities. Other improvements have been made through programmes that
provide adequate housing solutions that include accessibility and the necessary conditions to address diverse
population groups (persons with disabilities, older persons or vulnerable persons).
Some of the actions or programmes implemented by the countries are described below. Guatemala
implemented a policy for the comprehensive improvement of slums, under the responsibility of the Ministry of
Communications, Infrastructure and Housing. This instrument guides and facilitates decision-making, coordination
of initiatives and management of intervention and improvement resources for precarious human settlements.
Overall, these efforts did not reduce the percentage of the population living in slums, although if this policy
had not been implemented figures would probably have been much higher (Government of Guatemala, 2017).
Chile <strong>report</strong>ed that its “Campamentos” programme launched the development of 25 master plans in precarious
settlement areas, with the aim of consolidating, rebuilding or developing large urban areas. The country also
implemented a portfolio of 75 projects to improve former slum areas, including the construction of new public
spaces such as squares, community centres and sports arenas. As regards access to housing, programmes
for rural habitability and social and territorial integration also contributed to greater territorial equity in terms
of development and well-being, while allowing an improvement in the standards of housing built with State
support in urbanization, location, surface, quantity, use and distribution of facilities, and preparation of housing
schemes (Government of Chile, 2018). In the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the chapter of the Constitution
on social and family rights stipulates that each person has the right to adequate housing and basic services. As
a result, the State prioritizes families with low incomes and guarantees their access to social policies and credit
to build, acquire or expand housing (Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, 2017). El Salvador
is developing a programme for housing and comprehensive upgrading of precarious urban settlements to
improve housing conditions for the low- and middle-income population segments (Government of El Salvador,
2017). In Panama, the Ministry of Housing and Territorial Management is developing initiatives to create
housing policies that improve the quality of housing and fulfil standards of quality and technical requirements
123
According to data from the United Nations Statistics Division for 2014, the percentage of the population living in slums in South Asia was 30.7%.
124
One of the causes of the increase in the number of people living in slums in Haiti was the earthquake in 2010, which caused significant damage to housing across
the country, and particularly in urban areas with high population density.
154